THEY both have "Sunshine" in the title, have the same Big Beach Production team, are set in the same anywhere-somewhere United States location, and boast the incomparable Alan Arkin as the eccentric grumpster of a grandpa paired with an adorable precocious kid.

But director Christine Jeffs isn't preoccupied with the inevitable comparisons of her quirky new film, Sunshine Cleaning - about two sisters who start up their own crime scene clean-up business - with the 2006 Best Picture Oscar nominee Little Miss Sunshine.

"You just don't go out purposely to make a film that has 'sunshine' in the title," she told Today over the phone from her home in New Zealand with a laugh. "But I do appreciate that people really love the actors and are excited to see what the film is all about. Especially the Amy (Adams) and Emily (Blunt) pairing, as well as Alan Arkin, of course ... We really have such a great cast."

The New Zealander who previously directed Gwyneth Paltrow and Daniel Craig in 2003's tragic Sylvia Plath biopic, Sylvia, said she was "intrigued about the relationship of the sisters" and was "attracted to the humour and cunning humanistic value to the story".

"I have a younger sister myself, and being the older one, I understand the subtext," she shared. "There is a lot of stuff that goes on that is unspoken, which is very fun to play around with and that's where I look for the humour."

The 46-year-old, whose next project Wonderful Tonight chronicles the relationship between a confirmed bachelor and a young woman and their surprising love affair, also shared that working with both Adams and Blunt was "amazing and incredibly fun" but saved her biggest praise for Arkin, saying he "created a great unity for everyone".

"He's very improvisational," said Jeffs, recalling how the Oscar-winning actor came up with an idea to do a scene in Spanish. "When he said, 'Hey ... I love the set-up, but can I do it in Spanish?' to me, I was like, 'Woo Hoo!'"

Catch sneak previews of Sunshine Cleaning in cinemas this weekend.

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