AFI FEST FILM REVIEW: “Shayda” is a thoughtful and profoundly moving family drama. It chronicles the journey of an Iranian mother and daughter as they endure a painful separation from their abusive husband in Australia in the 1990s.
Paraphrasing the title of the Oscar-winning 2011 Iranian film “A Separation,” directed by Asghar Farhadi, another story of separation among Iranians comes to the screen -- “Shayda,” based on the personal experience of first-time Iranian Australian director Noora Niasari, delivers a vivid portrayal of an abused Iranian single mother and her daughter as they wander in a foreign land.
 |
| Director Nooria Niasari, Australia. Photo by José Alberto Hermosillo. Copyright © Festival in LA, 2023 |
The collaborative effort took six years to come to fruition. Noora’s mother was not only her inspiration but also stood by her side during production. Academy Award-winning actress Cate Blanchett, who served as an executive producer, was an essential part of the project, Niasari said at a Q&A after the screening of her film during the AFI Fest in Los Angeles in 2023.
The Persian-born director Noora Niasari, who grew up in Australia, returned to Iran at 19 to learn more about her roots, cultural identity, and other elements that would enrich the film. The symbolism of Shayda’s clothes, shapes, and colors represents the emotional journey and transformation, visually turning Shayda’s silhouette into a butterfly.
In terms of place and time, the film powerfully analyzes how immigrants lived in Australia during the 1990s.
The film strongly suggests Shayda’s darkest moments, including the reference to when she was beaten, raped, and sent out onto the street with her six-year-old daughter, Mona. To overcome adversity, she seeks refuge at a women’s shelter, where she finds counseling, legal aid, and friends in similar circumstances who teach her to empower herself to confront her husband and his family.
Over the Persian New Year celebration, Shayda would like to take comfort in the Nowruz rituals that symbolize a new beginning. But real life takes work. Escaping domestic violence and her country’s totalitarian ideology, Shayda needs to recapture her cultural identity by staying connected to her Iranian food, poetry, music, dances, traditions, and, above all, the Iranian people in Australia.
In this stressful cat-and-mouse drama, Shayda must be as far as possible from her abusive husband, Hossain (Osamah Sami), but the law does not grant her wishes. The patriarchal Australian system, unaware that the father wants to take his woman and daughter back to Iran to preserve his misogynist dominance, rules in favor of the father’s visitations.
 |
Actress Zar Amir Ebrahimi, Photo by José Alberto Hermosillo. Copyright © Festival in LA, 2023
|
Starring Tehran-born actress Zar Amir Ebrahimi (“Holy Spider” & “Tatami”) is as remarkable as Shayda. She displays a wide range of emotions, playing a mother who is aware of her daughter’s well-being but also needs empathy for herself.
 |
Actress Zar Amir Ebrahimi & Selina Zahednia, Photo courtesy of Sony Classics, 2023,
|
Mona, the little girl, is confident and expressive; young actress Selina Zahednia plays her. She understood acting from the beginning. The mother-daughter relationship looked natural on camera thanks to Selina and Zar Amir’s chemistry. They bonded by practicing their scenes in a child-friendly environment for two months.
“Shayda” is a woman-driven story that depicts the repercussions of the Australian immigration system and resonates as part of a new image of the Great Southern Land we have not seen before.
Noora Niasari dedicated her first work to her mom and all the brave women of Iran. She will continue working on her trilogy and has just announced that her next project is an adaptation of Mahsa Rahman’s novel “Raya” in North America.
“Shayda” is an affectionate, female-driven film with a sense of belonging. This cathartic project reflects the challenges experienced by a single mom during her separation from her abusive husband, as she moves away from her totalitarian country to find shelter and personal fulfillment for her and her daughter in a new land that represents a new beginning for both women who dream of a better future.
