''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 usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as permanent residents. Commuters, tourists, and other short- ...

living in the United States at the time of the

Iran hostage crisis The Iran hostage crisis () began on November 4, 1979, when 66 Americans, including diplomats and other civilian personnel, were taken hostage at the Embassy of the United States in Tehran, with 52 of them being held until January 20, 1981. Th ...

. The film was written and directed by Ramin Serry. Mariam Parris plays the young woman. The film also features

Shaun Toub Shaun Toub (born February 15, 1958) is an 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'' (2007); Majid Javadi in the Showtime ...

as her father,

Shohreh Aghdashloo Shohreh Aghdashloo (, ; born Vaziri-Tabar, May 11, 1952) is an Iranian and American actress. She has received various accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award and a Satellite Award, in addition to a nomination for an Academy Award. Followin ...

as her mother, and David Ackert as her cousin, Ali, who becomes an Islamic fundamentalist. Maryam was featured in the third Roger Ebert's Overlooked Film Festival in 2001. The word "Maryam" is the Aramaic name of

Mary, the mother of Jesus Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

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 (perfumery), note in perfumery. Now widely grown as an ornamental plant, ...

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