MOVIE OF THE WEEK March 1, 2024: SHAYDA
Trauma and abuse fuel a Persian woman’s determination to change her life — and that of her young daughter — in writer/director Noora Niasari’s compelling feature drama debut Shayda. Thanks to Niasari’s sensitive script and empathetic direction and star Zar Amir Ebrahimi’s excellent performance, the result is a film that’s likely to leave viewers feeling both rage at misogynistic traditions and hope for the possibility of change, transformation, and renewal.
Based partially on Niasari’s own experiences as a child, Shayda follows the title character (Ebrahimi) as she and her 6-year-old daughter, Mona (Selina Zahednia), take refuge from Shayda’s husband/Mona’s father, Hossein (Osamah Sami), in an Australian women’s shelter. Far from her native Iran and feeling trapped by both cultural expectations and her own fears, Shayda still finds ways to honor her heritage — specifically, by celebrating Nowruz, the Persian new year. And as she shares the painful details of her history with Hossein with those who want to help her successfully divorce him, it seems that perhaps she and Mona can truly be free from him … and then the court decides to grant him visitation rights until the case is settled.
Shayda’s resolve to stand up for her own basic rights and protect her daughter is challenged at every turn, but she persists. She slowly begins to believe that she deserves to find happiness by making her own choices, whether that means going dancing with friends in a sparkly dress or striking up a conversation with someone new and interesting. She doesn’t know for certain what her future holds, but she knows that she and Mona are entitled to freedom and joy.
The film — an audience award winner at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival — recognizes the power of small moments, from scenes of Shayda and Mona practicing Persian dance moves in the shelter to an emotional reunion between another mother and her child. Zahednia and Ebrahimi are excellent together, both delivering emotionally authentic, convincing performances. And Niasari directs them with a confident hand, telling a clearly very personal story with care and compassion. — Betsy Bozdech
Team #MOTW’s comments:
Pam Grady: Writer/director Noora Niasari turns to her own life and that of her mother in her striking feature debut. The titular Shayda (Zar Emir Ebrahimi, Holy Spider) and her young daughter Mona (Selina Zahednia) left Iran for life in Melbourne, Australia, where Shayda’s husband Hossein (Osamah Sami) attends medical school with the intention of returning home when his studies are complete. But the marriage has turned abusive and Shayda has no interest in returning to her repressive homeland. While her divorce wends its slow way through the courts, she and Mona seek sanctuary in a women’s shelter where the diverse group have in common marital violence and fear of their unpredictable partners. Ebrahhimi delivers a powerful performance as a woman who refuses to succumb to her anxiety, instead demonstrating resilience to her daughter, a Shayda is teaching Mona alongside dancing and the positive aspects of Iran’s culture and traditions. Australia’s International Feature Oscar submission, Shayda movingly depicts the strong bond between mother and child in a resonant tale both deeply personal and universal.
Nell Minow: Niasari lets us see through the eyes of herself as a child and as an adult in this touching tribute to her mother. Zar Amir Ebrahimi gives a layered performance that lets us know what her character is feeling and how much she has to hide from her daughter, played with winning naturalness by Selina Zahednia.
Sherin Nicole Noora Niasari’s Shayda compassionately presents the unyielding spirit of its titular character, Shayda, with unflinching honesty. The story centers around a young Iranian woman striving for freedom from a toxic marriage, set against the backdrop of the suburbs of 1990s Australia. Captivating and tension-filled, Shayda exudes pure authenticity, driven by an absorbing performance from Zar Amir Ebrahimi. Ebrahimi’s portrayal of Shayda balances resilience and vulnerability in the character’s indomitable pursuit of independence. Niasari’s vision, combined with Sherwin Akbarzadeh’s cinematography, blends documentary-style awareness with intense elements. Despite a few predictable moments, the film slices open the suffocating patriarchal norms in Shayda’s life while exposing the lasting harm of domestic abuse. Shayda speaks to women’s resilience in adversity, marking Niasari as a vibrant new voice.
Loren King In her compelling feature debut about a young mother’s flight from domestic abuse, Australian-Iranian writer/director Noora Niasari creates tension that simmers from the first scene to the last frame. Zar Amir Ebrahimi is superb as the title character, a Iranian woman living in Australia in 1995 with her young daughter Mona (Selina Zahednia). Shayda is attempting to leave her abusive husband, Hossein (Osamah Sami), a medical student who intends to move back to Iran with Shadya and Mona, despite Shayda’s steps to obtain a divorce. Fearful that the angry Hossein will abduct Mona, Shadya and her daughter take refuge in a women’s shelter run by the non-nonsense but compassionate Joyce (the excellent Leah Purcell). Read full review.
Nikki Fowler: Noora Niasari’s drama Shayda stars Zar Amir-Ebrahimi as a desperate mother who flees to Australia from the grasps of an abusive husband while having to protect her young daughter, Mona, from being kidnapped by him and taken back to Iran where the law would not be on her side. ‘Shayda’ will have you gut wrenched and at the edge of your seat with a topic that is universal to women, we have all heard the stories and sadly some have experienced this real life terror first hand from an abusive partner or spouse with the added urgency of protecting a young child or children. Zar gives an exceptional performance as Shayda and the film is beautifully directed by Niassari with a warm cinematic experience encompassing the delicate themes and emotion of the story. Shayda must deal with her daughter being thrown into some very sensitive adult topics as well as having to raise her in an Australian women’s shelter with its micro aggressions and xenophobia. Like a rainbow bursting through a sea of grey clouds, Shayda finds the strength she needs to survive with the few genuine relationships she has, despite her own mother wanting her to return to her husband and inflicting victim blaming at some of the worst moments when she just needed a voice to lean on. Shayda will resonate and is highly recommended viewing.
Leslie Combemale Noora Niasari has captured a lot of the nuances and challenges of women living between worlds, waiting and hoping for a new life as they so often do while living in a shelter. Kudos to her for hiring a nearly exclusively female crew that is so talented, as well as a casting department that found performers who have palpable onscreen chemistry. Both the power of sisterhood and the mother/daughter bond are captured to great effect, becoming the driving force of the story. It is a testament to Niassari’s skill as a writer that viewers are left with hope at the end of a tale with such sadness.
Jennifer Merin Set in rural Australia during the 1990s, Shayda is writer/director Noora Niasari’s intensely affecting semi-autobiographical drama about a Persian woman who is trying to free herself and her six year old daughter from the tyranny and violence of an abusive husband. Shayda and her daughter, Mona, have moved into a women’s shelter while the divorce petition moves slowly through the court, but she is terrified that her husband, who has been granted unsupervised visiting rights, will kidnap Mona and bring her back to Iran. Zar Amir-Ebrahimi’s performance as Shayda is gut wrenching. Her fear is palpable from the film’s start, when she and a social worker are trying to teach Mona, the daughter, what she must do to avoid being kidnapped — and Mona doesn’t understand the danger, and just wants to have a ‘normal’ life. The shelter is run by a very sympathetic and protective Australian woman (Leah Purcell), but some of the other residents are inherently racist. which adds to Shayda’s angst. Deep sympathy and compassion for Shayda and her plight are unavoidable. Her relationship with Mona is compelling. The film’s theme is thought-provoking and the plot is gripping. This is a film that will still be with you long after the credits have rolled.
Sandie Angulo Chen: Writer-director Noora Niasari’s debut feature film Shayda is a tender, terrifically acted drama about a young Iranian mother and her six-year-old daughter who are trying to escape the clutches of an abusive husband at an Australian women’s shelter. As Shayda (played by Zar Amir-Ebrahimi) tries to celebrate the Persian New Year with her daughter Mona (Selina Zahednia), she must learn to deal with her estranged husband’s court-ordered unsupervised visits. The film, set in 1995, explores the myriad small ways that women try to reassert their agency after fleeing tyrannical partners. It’s not always easy to watch, but Shayda is still a beautiful film.
Liz Whittemore Filmmaker Noora Niasari delivers an intimate and personal story created from both her mother’s memoirs and her own childhood memories. Shayda escapes a toxic marriage, taking her young daughter Mona to Australia. Hiding within the protective walls of a women’s shelter, she must navigate custody when her estranged husband shows up from Iran. Utilizing Farsi interpreters, abuse recollections become shared trauma with the audience. Niasari gives us a beautiful visual metaphor for patience and growth as Shayda patiently nurtures wheatgrass sprouts. Featuring nuanced performances from newcomer Selina Zahednia and Zahra Amir Ebrahimi in the titular role, Shayda is a love letter to the relentless sacrifice and unconditional love between a mother and daughter.
Cate Marquis Shayda is a moving Australian drama about an Iranian woman, Shayda (Zar Amir Ebrahimi), who has fled her abusive husband along with her six-year-old daughter Mona (Selina Zahednia), with the help of an Australian woman, Joyce (Leah Purcell) who runs a women’s shelter. Hiding in the women’s shelter in Australia, Shayda is tries to get a divorce from her husband Hossein (Osamah Sami) as she and her daughter struggle to adjust to life in the shelter, as the Persian new year approaches. The woman who runs the shelter is kind but not all the other women there are, and young Mona doesn’t understand whey they can’t just go home. The situation becomes more tense when the court gives Shayda’s abusive husband visiting rights with the daughter. Partly based on writer/director Noora Niasari’s own childhood experiences, Zar Amir Ebrahim gives a touching and emotionally moving performance as Shayda, as the drama follows the mother’s and daughter’s journey.
TRAILER
FILM DETAILS:
Title: Shayda
Director: Noora Niasari
Release Date: March 1, 2024
Running Time: 117 minutes
Language: English, Farsi with English subtitles
Screenwriter: Noora Niasari
Distribution Company: Sony Pictures Classics
AWFJ Movie of the Week Panel Members: Sandie Angulo Chen, Betsy Bozdech, Leslie Combemale, Nikki Fowler, Pam Grady, Loren King, Cate Marquis, Jennifer Merin, Nell Minow, Sherin Nicole, Liz Whittemore
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Edited by Jennifer Merin
