''Maryam'' is a
2002 film about a young woman who is an Iranian
immigrant
Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...
living in the United States at the time of the
Iran hostage crisis
On November 4, 1979, 52 United States diplomats and citizens were held hostage after a group of militarized Iranian college students belonging to the Muslim Student Followers of the Imam's Line, who supported the Iranian Revolution, took over t ...
. The film was written and directed by
Ramin Serry.
Mariam Parris plays the young woman. The film also features
Shaun Toub
Shaun Toub ( fa, شان توب ; ; born February 15, 1958) is an Iranian-born American actor. He has played the character Yinsen in '' Iron Man'' (2008) and ''Iron Man 3'' (2013); Farhad in ''Crash'' (2004); Rahim Khan in ''The Kite Runner'' (2 ...
as her father,
Shohreh Aghdashloo
Shohreh Aghdashloo ( fa, شهره آغداشلو, ; née Vaziri-Tabar (); 11 May 1952) is an Iranian and American actress. Following numerous starring roles on the stage, she made her film debut in ''Chess of the Wind'' (1976). Her next two film ...
as her mother, and David Ackert as her cousin, Ali, who becomes an
Islamic fundamentalist
Islamic fundamentalism has been defined as a puritanical, revivalist, and reform movement of Muslims who aim to return to the founding scriptures of Islam. Islamic fundamentalists are of the view that Muslim-majority countries should return t ...
.
Maryam was featured in the third
Roger Ebert's Overlooked Film Festival
Ebertfest is an annual film festival held every April in Champaign, Illinois, United States, organized by the College of Media at the University of Illinois. Roger Ebert, the TV and ''Chicago Sun-Times'' film critic, was a native of the adjoin ...
in 2001.
The word "Maryam" is the Aramaic name of
Mary, the mother of Jesus
Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jews, Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Jose ...
and means the same in Persian language. Maryam also means
Tuberose
''Agave amica'', formerly ''Polianthes tuberosa'', the tuberose, is a perennial plant in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Agavoideae, extracts of which are used as a note in perfumery. Now widely grown as an ornamental plant, the species was or ...
in Persian and is a common first name in Iran.
External links
Review by Roger Ebert*
2002 films
Films set in 1979
Films set in 1980
Films set in 1981
Films set in Iran
Films set in New Jersey
Iranian drama films
2002 drama films
2000s political films
American political drama films
Films about immigration to the United States
2000s American films
{{Iran-film-stub