Movies on the Map: Shayda
This Sundance Audience Award Winner follows an Iranian immigrant and mother who flees an abusive marriage to forge a new life with her young daughter in Australia.
This Sundance Audience Award Winner follows an Iranian immigrant and mother who flees an abusive marriage to forge a new life with her young daughter in Australia.
Shayda, a brave Iranian mother, has fled her husband, finding refuge in an Australian women's shelter with her six-year-old daughter. Over the Persian New Year, they struggle to find normalcy in Nowruz rituals and new beginnings. But when her estranged husband re-enters their lives, Shayda's path to freedom is jeopardized.
Drawn from personal experiences, Iranian Australian filmmaker Noora Niasari's powerful debut feature is a poetic, beautifully crafted vérité portrait of courage and compassion, anchored by a heart-rending performance by Zar Amir Ebrahimi (Holy Spider). Ebrahimi captures the vulnerability and conflict, but also the radiant soul, of an Iranian woman who boldly reclaims her human rights: to divorce her husband, dress as she chooses, and keep her child no matter the cost. Australian entry for Best International Feature