Shayda
Audience Award at Sundance, Australian nominee for Best International Film at the 2024 Oscars… Shayda, the debut feature of Iranian director Noora Niasari, has won over critics and audiences everywhere it has gone. Produced by Cate Blanchett and starring the multi-award-winning Zar Amir Ebrahimi – Best Actress at the Cannes Film Festival for Holy Spider. Holy Spider-, Shayda takes us back to the director’s own childhood, a true story with which she wanted to pay tribute to her mother.
Shayda, an Iranian woman living in Australia, finds refuge in a shelter for abused women with her 6-year-old daughter Mona. After fleeing her husband, Hossein, and filing for divorce, Shayda struggles to maintain normality for Mona. The new situation and the visiting arrangements the girl is forced to make with her father increase the tension day by day, but do not dampen her desire to start a new life.
Release date: 28 June 2024
Cast
Zar Amir Ebrahimi, Selina Zahednia, Osamah Sami, Leah Purcell, Jillian Nguyen, Mojean Aria, Rina Mousavi
Crew
Direction and screenplay: Noora Niasari
Produced by: Dirty Films (Cate Blanchett)
Country: Australia
Film Critics Say:
"Powerful. Its unmistakable fighting spirit, running wild and free, is the greatest asset of this promising debut". Variety.
"A fine balance of light and dark: rebellion, love and resistance are in perfect harmony". The Hollywood Reporter
"An exciting new voice has arrived in Australian cinema". The Guardian ★★★★
"An inspiring story, of a woman who chooses hope over fear." Screendaily
"Zar Amir Ebrahimi shines in a deeply affecting Iranian-Australian drama". IndieWire
Distribution contact:
Virginia Menor
vmenor@lazona.eu
657 58 51 55
