Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
Bahrain-raised filmmaker Maryam Mir’s stories feel like memories passed between generations across dinner tables, shared prayers and oceans.
And with her short film Sweet Refuge streaming soon on AMC+, as well as her Pillars Artist Fellowship just wrapped, the Brooklyn-based Kashmiri-Canadian is part of a growing wave of filmmakers expanding the landscape of storytelling from the region.
“Growing up in Bahrain, I used to watch Hollywood and Bollywood films with my family,” she told GulfWeekly.
“Going to the cinema was our favourite activity and it was a beautiful way of bonding and being together. It helped me understand who I was and created dreams within me, about what was possible.”
The 32-year-old filmmaker’s short film Sweet Refuge will begin streaming on May 1 as part of AMC+’s Future of Film: AAPI Rising Stars series.
The cosy and quietly subversive film, which won a Directors Guild of America award, follows a Syrian baker during his first Eid in the US attempting to sell the walnut baklava he has spent his lifetime perfecting.
As he roams the streets of Brooklyn, he bumps into a savvy Indian ladoo maker, who appears to have figured out how to attract some of New York’s most coveted customers: health-conscious Brooklynites.
The film is layered, unexpected, and full of warmth, just like fresh baklava, and it was a darling on the film festival circuit last year, warming the hearts and souls of audiences at more than 45 venues.
“I think this film taps into something universal - belonging, home and connection, told through the lens of food, and more importantly, dessert!” she added.
“Who doesn’t love dessert?! I love how food is a universal access point and a way of connecting and sharing that transcends language and culture.
“I also was particularly passionate about the fact that although the main characters’ desserts appeared very different: ladoo and baklava, they actually shared a lot of similar ingredients (ghee, rosewater etc.)
“I thought this was a beautiful metaphor for shared connections, and I wondered if they might invent something totally new once they started to work together.”
Sweet Refuge is just one chapter in Maryam’s soaring career. The Tisch School of Arts-educated creative recently wrapped up the prestigious Pillars Artist Fellowship, a transformative experience for Muslim creatives, supported by the likes of Riz Ahmed and Academy Award winner Mahershala Ali.
The ‘life-changing’ opportunity inspired Maryam to develop several new feature-length ideas collaboratively, including a co-written romantic comedy and family drama set in the region.
Writing collaboratively, she said, has been a revelation: “Usually writing can be so isolating, but working with someone else - dreaming big together - has been incredibly freeing.”
Her upcoming projects reflect a shift in perspective catalysed by the fellowship.
“I no longer feel boxed in by genre,” she explained. “Whether it’s a documentary, a comedy, a romance - I feel empowered to explore it all.”
Still, Maryam’s filmmaking is always rooted in character and emotional truth.
Whether crafting a film about desserts, or her upcoming short Grandma Swim, the heart of her work has been in relationships - especially intergenerational ones.
Co-produced across US, Qatar and Bahrain, where the film is set, Grandma Swim explores a young girl helping her grandmother overcome a fear of the sea.
“Despite growing up on an island, I noticed we rarely swam in the sea. That stayed with me,” she said.
“I wanted to explore that through a child’s eyes - and capture the stunning Bahraini coastline on film.”
Working with a cross-cultural team, Maryam found joy in the small moments, like birthday breakfasts on set and helping first-time actors bring their characters to life.
“The sea became a character in the film. It represents fear, beauty and healing. I wanted to show that duality.”
Grandma Swim is set to premiere this year, with the film in post-production, while Maryam continues to work on multiple narrative and documentary projects, with one over-arching theme: to help people feel seen.
“I want to make films that everyone can watch, and see themselves in,” she explained.
“Films that can be accessible to all, films people watch with their families, where people feel seen, and imagine new possibilities of what friendship, home and belonging could look like.”
