Sony Pictures Classics has acquired Shayda, Noora Niasari’s feature film debut, executive produced by Academy Award® winner Cate Blanchett’s Dirty Films, and winner of the Audience Award in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition at this year’s Sundance Film Festival.
Shayda stars Zar Amir Ebrahimi (2022 Cannes’ Best Actress winner for Holy Spider), Osamah Sami, Leah Purcell, Jillian Nguyen, Mojean Aria, Selina Zahednia, and Rina Mousavi.
In the film, Shayda, an Iranian woman living in Australia, finds refuge in a women’s shelter with her 6-year-old daughter, Mona. Having fled her husband, Hossein, and filed for divorce, Shayda struggles to maintain normalcy and create a new home for Mona. Buoyed by the approach of Nowruz (Persian New Year), Shayda tries to forge a fresh start with new and unfettered freedoms. But when a judge grants Hossein visitation rights, he reenters their life, fueling Shayda’s apprehension that he’ll attempt to take Mona back to Iran. Drawn from personal experiences, Iranian-Australian filmmaker Niasari’s powerful SHAYDA is a beautifully crafted, poetic vérité portrayal of courage, compassion and the healing properties of community. Actress Ebrahimi captures the vulnerability and confliction, but also the radiant soul of an Iranian woman boldly reclaiming her human rights.
“I have held the deepest admiration for Sony Pictures Classics since childhood. For my debut feature to be distributed by them is a dream. I know they will set the stage for a wonderful release, so that audiences worldwide can experience the emotional depth and power of Shayda,” said Niasari.