The directorial debut of Hollywood actress Salma Hayek has received a standing ovation after its première at the Sundance Film Festival in Utah.

The film, Maldonado Miracle, focuses on the media frenzy that ensues when a statue of Jesus in a Catholic town starts bleeding.

What I really want is respect as an actress so that I can have the opportunity to do films that are interesting to me Salma Hayek

Hayek is also winning rave reviews for her portrayal of South American artist Frida Kahlo in the film Frida, which has gained her a Golden Globe nomination and talk of an Oscar nod.

Bidding has also begun at Sundance for distribution rights for films shown there, with Miramax paying $1.5m (£924,778) for The Station Agent, a comedy about a loner dwarf.

Other films which are garnering interest include Pieces of April, with bids reportedly already reaching $4m (£2.4m), Die Mommy Die and Party Monster.

'Useless miracle'

Hayek said of her film: "What was most interesting was the miracles we do everyday once we have a little bit of hope.

"To me, a Christ bleeding is a useless miracle. What is it going to help?"

And she added that she had not been disappointed at losing out on a Golden Globe to Nicole Kidman's performance in The Hours.

"Just seeing my name among those (other nominees) already gave me what I want," she said.