SHAYDA

AUSTRALIA | 2023 | COLOR | DCP | 118’ | ENGLISH, FARSI

Shayda is an immigrant living with her daughter and husband in Australia. But he terrifies her with his violent acts so she and her daughter resort to a center for abused women. Their life will require courage and teeth gritting in order for them to breathe again. A film about the strength, the complicated nature and the sensibility of being a woman in a world that Niasari, to her credit, faces positively with humane composure and forgiveness. A narrative ease based on a huge lead performance by Amir Ebrahimi, a tenderness that never slips into sentimentalism, and a clear female gaze miles away from Hollywood sensationalism. Audience Award at Sundance. I.D.

DIRECTOR: Noora Niasari
SCREENWRITER: Noora Niasari
DoP: Sherwin Akbarzadeh
EDITOR: Elika Rezaee
PRINCIPAL CAST: Zahra Amir Ebrahimi, Osamah Sami, Mojean Aria, Jilian Nguyen, Rina Mousavi, Selina Zahednia, Leah Purcell

NOORA NIASARI
Australian filmmaker born in Iran. She began studying Architecture but Cinema changed her course. She has directed documentaries and short films; she got her MA from the Victorian College of the Arts and traveled to Spain where Abbas Kiarostami was her mentor. She co-founded Parandeh Pictures Production Company.

FILMOGRAPHY
2023 Shayda
2017 Antunez House