Shayda

Noora Niasari’s first film is a remarkable piece of work which premiered at the Sundance film festival last year, where it was acclaimed as an outstanding debut. It’s set in Australia, but the dominant culture is Iranian. Shayda is a married woman with a six year old daughter (Mona). The film opens in Melbourne airport where Hossein, Shayda’s abusive husband, is about to fly back to Iran to celebrate the Persian New Year; Shayda fears that he will take the daughter and not return. She takes Mona to a woman’s refuge which is where much of the film takes place, as the eponymous heroine tries to build a new life away from the dominance and cruelty of her husband and the patriarchal Iranian culture she was raised in. It’s a very powerful piece of work which is both specific and universal in the challenges faced by one woman, and by far too many other women.

SYNOPSIS:
SHAYDA, a brave Iranian mother, finds refuge in an Australian women's shelter with her six-year-old daughter. Over Persian New Year, they take solace in Nowruz rituals and new beginnings, but when her estranged husband re-enters their lives, Shayda's path to freedom is jeopardised.

Details
Run time: 1h 57 mins
Certificate: 15
Director: Noora Niasari
Writer: Noora Niasari
Cast: Leah Purcell, Zar Amir Ebrahimi, Lucinda Armstrong Hall

Country: Australia
Genre: Drama
Language: Persian, English