Shayda, a brave young 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 jeopardized.
I am in awe of the millions of mothers and daughters fighting for their basic human rights. This film is dedicated to my mother – who found freedom for herself and for her daughter in Australia – and the brave women and girls of Iran.
Shayda had its World Premiere at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival on 19 January 2023, where it won the Audience Award in the World Cinema Dramatic competition.
In August 2023 it was screened as the opening film in the Melbourne International Film Festival and it closed the Locarno Film Festival in Switzerland. It is also scheduled for screening at the Toronto International Film Festival in September.
Shayda was submitted for the Best International Feature category in the 2024 Academy Awards.
Shayda won the CinefestOZ Film Prize Western Australia in September 2023, worth A$100,000. The prize is the largest cash film prize in Australia, and one of the largest in the world.
About this movie
Title: Shayda (2023)
Directed by: Noora Niasari
Date of birth: 1989, Tehran, Iran
Writing credits: Noora Niasari
Music: Kate Dean
Year: 2023
Country: Australia
Language: Farsi | English
Color: Color
Runtime: 117 min.