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Co-presented by the Arab American National Museum
This is a selection of short films originally programmed for the 27th Arab Film Festival in 2023. While they were originally meant to reside in separate programs with different themes, together as one program they still compliment each other well, exploring stories of diasporic Arab life across the United States and Canada. Each filmmaker's individual approach to this topic and their unique styles each bring something different to the table.
A passionate Syrian baker spends his first Eid in the U.S. attempting to sell the sweet he’s spent his lifetime perfecting: walnut baklava. As he roams the streets of Brooklyn, he bumps into a savvy Indian ladoo maker, who’s figured out how to appeal to one of New York’s health-conscious Brooklynites.
About the Filmmaker:
Maryam Mir is a writer/director currently pursuing her MFA in Film Production at NYU Tisch, where she is an Ang Lee Scholar. As a Kashmiri-Canadian born in Germany, raised in Bahrain, with Kenyan ancestry, Maryam has always found inspiration in stories that center the immigrant experience in all its joy, delight and magic.
She is a UCP Thousand Miles Project Workshop Participant '22, a NYFA Canadian Women Artists’ Awardee '22 and a Gotham Marcie Bloom Fellow '23. Her latest short film, Sweet Refuge, starring Laith Nakli and Mahira Kakkar, was recently awarded a Jury Award at the Director's Guild of America Student Film Awards, an Canadian Woman Artists' Award from the New York Foundation of the Arts and a distribution grant from the Islamic Scholarship Fund.
- Year2023
- Runtime12 minutes
- LanguageEnglish, Arabic
- CountryUnited States
- GenreComedy
- Subtitle LanguageEnglish
- DirectorMaryam Mir
- ScreenwriterMaryam Mir
- ProducerSara Balghonaim, Aya Hamdan
- CastLaith Nakli, Mahria Kakkar
Co-presented by the Arab American National Museum
This is a selection of short films originally programmed for the 27th Arab Film Festival in 2023. While they were originally meant to reside in separate programs with different themes, together as one program they still compliment each other well, exploring stories of diasporic Arab life across the United States and Canada. Each filmmaker's individual approach to this topic and their unique styles each bring something different to the table.
A passionate Syrian baker spends his first Eid in the U.S. attempting to sell the sweet he’s spent his lifetime perfecting: walnut baklava. As he roams the streets of Brooklyn, he bumps into a savvy Indian ladoo maker, who’s figured out how to appeal to one of New York’s health-conscious Brooklynites.
About the Filmmaker:
Maryam Mir is a writer/director currently pursuing her MFA in Film Production at NYU Tisch, where she is an Ang Lee Scholar. As a Kashmiri-Canadian born in Germany, raised in Bahrain, with Kenyan ancestry, Maryam has always found inspiration in stories that center the immigrant experience in all its joy, delight and magic.
She is a UCP Thousand Miles Project Workshop Participant '22, a NYFA Canadian Women Artists’ Awardee '22 and a Gotham Marcie Bloom Fellow '23. Her latest short film, Sweet Refuge, starring Laith Nakli and Mahira Kakkar, was recently awarded a Jury Award at the Director's Guild of America Student Film Awards, an Canadian Woman Artists' Award from the New York Foundation of the Arts and a distribution grant from the Islamic Scholarship Fund.
- Year2023
- Runtime12 minutes
- LanguageEnglish, Arabic
- CountryUnited States
- GenreComedy
- Subtitle LanguageEnglish
- DirectorMaryam Mir
- ScreenwriterMaryam Mir
- ProducerSara Balghonaim, Aya Hamdan
- CastLaith Nakli, Mahria Kakkar