Shayda
DirectorNoora Niasari
CastsLeah Purcell, Zar Amir Ebrahimi, Lucinda Armstrong Hall, Mojean Aria, Jillian Nguyen, Eve Morey, Osamah Sami, Tiana Hogben, Jerome Meyer, Rina Mousavi, Catherine Glavicic, Selina Zahednia, Liam McCarthy, Shayan Askari, Bev Killick, Luka Sero, Faouzi Daghistani, Nicole Gulasekharam
Duration117 minutes
Rating
GenreDrama
Trailer & Synopsis
An Iranian woman living in Australia, Shayda finds refuge in a women’s shelter with her frightened 6-year-old daughter, Mona. Having fled her husband, Hossein, and filed for divorce, Shayda struggles to maintain normalcy for Mona. Buoyed by the approach of Nowruz (Persian New Year), she tries to forge a fresh start with new and unfettered freedoms. But when a judge grants Hossein visitation rights, he reenters their life, stoking Shayda’s fear that he’ll attempt to take Mona back to Iran.
Drawn from personal experiences, Iranian-Australian filmmaker Noora Niasari’s powerful debut feature is a beautifully crafted, poetic vérité portrayal of courage and compassion, anchored by a heart-rending performance by Zar Amir Ebrahimi (2022 Cannes’ best actress award winner for Holy Spider).
Shayda is showing in cinemas since September 25, 2023 to November 15, 2023