Maryam Mir is a filmmaker and writer based in Brooklyn. As a Kashmiri-Canadian born in Germany, raised in Bahrain, with Kenyan ancestry, Maryam finds inspiration in stories that center the warmth, gentleness and joy of her many communities.
Her narrative short, “Sweet Refuge”, starring Laith Nakli (from Hulu's RAMY) and Mahira Kakkar (from Broadway's LIFE OF PI), has played at 45+ festivals and won 10 awards, including the prestigious Jury Award from the Directors Guild of America Student Film Awards, a 2024 Best of NewFilmmakers LA Award and an Artist Award from the New York Foundation of the Arts. Sweet Refuge was acquired by AMC+, as part of their "Future of Film: AAPI Rising Stars" collection, distributed by Omeleto, YouTube’s top showcase for award-winning short films and is a NOWNESS Asia Pick.
Her latest short film, “Grandma Swim”, set in Bahrain, received awards from the Doha Film Institute, Tisch Initiative for Creative Research, PANO Network and HEAR US. It was also selected as 1 of 3 finalists for the AnnaRose King Production Award for Comedic Storytelling. She is currently developing her feature debut, a migrant love story set in the Gulf.
Alongside narrative filmmaking, she recently produced PBS documentary short, “Sarah Thankam Mathews: After All This”. The series premiered at Oscar-qualifying DOC NYC ‘24, and is now streaming on PBS. She is currently working on documentary projects with REI Co-op Studios, The Redford Center and the Refugee Women’s Network.
Maryam is a 2024 Pillars Artist Fellow (sponsored by Netflix and supported by Riz Ahmed’s Left Handed Films), Marcie Bloom Fellow '23 and Asian American Writers’ Workshop - Open City Fellow ‘19.
Maryam earned her MFA in Film from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, where she was an Ang Lee scholar, and her B.S. in Economics from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
Prior to film school, Maryam spent half a decade as a creative strategist at SYPartners in New York & Wolff Olins in Dubai, working with leaders of Fortune 50 companies. She now uses this experience to supplement her creative work—helping purpose-led individuals, nonprofits and foundations strengthen their voice through visual and narrative-driven storytelling.