Maryam Mir is a writer, director & producer based in Brooklyn. As a Kashmiri-Canadian raised in Bahrain, with Kenyan ancestry, Maryam finds inspiration in stories that center the warmth, gentleness and joy of her many communities.
Her short film, “Sweet Refuge”, starring Laith Nakli (Hulu's RAMY, A24’s PROBLEMISTA) and Mahira Kakkar (Broadway's LIFE OF PI, Netflix’s MANIFEST), was acquired by AMC+ as part of their "Future of Film: AAPI Rising Stars" collection, has played at 35+ festivals including BlackStar, Hamptons International Film Festival, Austin Film Festival, Film at Lincoln Center (NYAFF & DIFF) and won 9 awards, including a Jury Award for Best Asian American Filmmaker from the Director's Guild of America, Best of 2024 Award from NewFilmmakers LA and an Artist Award from the New York Foundation of the Arts. It is now streaming on YouTube’s top showcase for award-winning short films, Omeleto 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.
Alongside narrative filmmaking, she recently produced documentary short, “Sarah Thankam Mathews: After All This”, for PBS’ American Masters x Firelight Media’s “In the Making” series, following emerging cultural icons as they become maestros of their disciplines. It premiered at Oscar-qualifying Hot Springs ‘24 and DOC NYC ‘24, and will be streaming on PBS in 2025.
Maryam is a 2024 Pillars Artist Fellow (in partnership with Riz Ahmed & Netflix), Gotham Marcie Bloom Fellow '23, UCP Thousand Miles Project Participant ‘22 (founded by Pachinko’s Soo Hugh) & Asian American Writers’ Workshop Open City Fellow ‘19.
Maryam holds an MFA in Film Production from NYU Tisch, where she was an Ang Lee scholarship recipient and concentrated in Writing and Directing. She received her Bachelor of Science in Economics from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, majoring in Marketing and minoring in English.
Prior to film school, Maryam spent half a decade as a strategist at SYPartners in New York & Wolff Olins in Dubai. She now uses this experience to supplement her creative work—helping purpose-led organizations, nonprofits and foundations to strengthen their voice through visual and narrative-driven storytelling.