Sometimes when you have a terrific film but it doesn’t quite have the hook for mainstream audiences, you sometimes need a catchy ace in the hole. And that’s exactly what the Australian film “Shayda” has in its executive producers, in this case, a little actor you may know named Cate Blanchett, plus her husband and producing partner Andrew Upton and Coco Francini. Blanchett has been lending her name to a lot of international cinema worthy of a boost of late (Greece’s “Apples”), and along with recent collaboration with Sparks and Guy Maddin (and an almost collaboration with Pedro Almodovar that came close), it appears as if Blanchett has really reaffirmed her commitment to global and left-of-field cinema this year, so good for her.
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Australia’s official entry for the Academy Awards’ Best International Feature Film category and an official selection title at Toronto International Film Festival 2023 and AFI 2023, “Shayda” premiered at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year, where it won the audience award in the world cinema dramatic competition. So by all accounts, that’s a ton of praise right there.
The feature film debut of Noora Niasari, the film centers on the title character Shayda, an Iranian woman living in Australia who finds refuge in a women’s shelter with her frightened 6-year-old daughter. The film also stars Zar Amir Ebrahimi, who won best actress at Cannes last year for her performance in “Holy Spider.”
Co-starring Mojean Aria and Osamah Sami, with all this behind it, “Shayda” seems like it could have a real shot at cracking that Best International Feature Film Oscar list.
Here’s the official synopsis:
An Iranian woman living in Australia, Shayda finds refuge in a women’s shelter with her frightened 6-year-old daughter, Mona. Having fled her husband, Hossein, and filed for divorce, Shayda struggles to maintain normalcy for Mona. Buoyed by the approach of Nowruz (Persian New Year), she tries to forge a fresh start with new and unfettered freedoms. But when a judge grants Hossein visitation rights, he re-enters their life, stoking Shayda’s fear that he’ll attempt to take Mona back to Iran. Drawn from personal experiences, Iranian-Australian filmmaker Noora Niasari’s powerful debut feature is a beautifully crafted, poetic vérité portrayal of courage and compassion, anchored by a heart-rending performance by Zar Amir Ebrahimi (2022 Cannes’ Best Actress award winner for Holy Spider). Ebrahimi captures the vulnerability and conflict, but also the radiant soul of an Iranian woman who boldly reclaims her human rights: to divorce her husband, keep her child, and dress as she chooses
“Shayda” will receive a one-week Oscar-qualifying run on December 13, 2023, via Sony Pictures Classic, and presumably expand after that in the new year. Check out the first trailer below.
