''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