Writer-Director Noora Niasari’s heart wrenching debut feature explores Shayda (Zar Amir Ebrahimi), a young Iranian mother and her six year old daughter, Mona (Selina Zahednia), taking refuge in a women’s shelter in Australia as she seeks safe passage amidst attempts to divorce from her husband, Hossein (Osamah Sami), during the two weeks of the Persian New Year (Nowruz). This film actually touches upon director Niasari’s personal life so there are details that can account for what actually transpired in her childhood. This gives the film a delicate sense of urgency and intimacy that you don’t always find, especially important for a story as terrifying and relevant as immigrants that are also victims of abuse and the larger system.
The story focuses on Shayda’s relationship with her daughter, navigating the tribulations of motherhood as she forges her path towards independence in Melbourne. Only for her husband to disrupt their livelihoods as he re-enters their lives due to a judge granting him temporary visitation rights to their daughter until the custody hearing. Everything hangs in the balance as Shayda and Mona’s desperate fight for freedom is threatened. This creates a rift between Shayda’s relations back home and her ongoing struggle with settling in her new community. Even Shayda’s mom asks her to forgive him because no one is perfect but at least he is a good father, unknowingly realising her daughter was raped by this same man yet her concern is directed towards what people back in Iran are saying, suggesting she must have done something wrong.
Every time Hossain interacts with Mona you can see him poisoning her with doubt about her situation, even mentioning how her grandmother misses her or spying on her mom in front of her to cause further emotional distress. By attempting to misconstrue context to gain favour with their community and ruin Shayda’s chances of a divorce by alienating and dehumanising her, he only confuses their daughter’s feelings even further. Mona has the difficult position of being in the middle ground where she is clearly afraid of her father’s capacity for violence and hostile treatment towards her mother, yet she still loves him and is confused on what to do. It doesn’t help that both of her parents make her keep secrets so she is pressured into withholding certain information in the presence of the other parent.
Shayda is an inspirational figure that paid a heavy toll to get to where she wants to be. It is putting it lightly when I say she goes through a lot. Her desire for independence is rooted from an environment that imprisoned her personhood, the trauma that inflicts her constant pain as a survivor of SA and domestic abuse, worrying about not being a good mother, the denial of divorce and a scholarship limiting her rights, rumours spreading back home in Iran that are warping the perception of her character, her Mom worried to death and encouraging compromise with her husband, the harsh transition of adopting western attitudes and culture as a Muslim from the East like the cutting of her hair and revealing it to the world, encountering other men during social encounters while dealing with buried trauma, and simply the fear of letting go and moving on.
Even going to the store for groceries causes Shayda unease as she fears being noticed by fellow Iranians. She is alone in her suffering and many times there’s no one to go. She has to stay strong not just for herself, but for her daughter too. Zar portrays this paranoia and unshakeable courage against adversity with such authenticity, determination and tenderness.
Noora directs with so much affection and care, she carefully balances the focus between Shayda and Mona while displaying the many traits of Iranian culture, both good or bad. As you see Shayda attend these cultural events, you realise what’s so beautiful in embracing tradition and the people you love, celebrating your culture but also why she chose to leave that part of her life, in pursuit of a new beginning. This rigorous battle between adapting Western attitudes and value to live a modern western lifestyle as an Eastern is an all too common struggle in our world.
Oftentimes you don’t know how to properly adjust your way of thinking and you find yourself walking a thin line, fears of not belonging anywhere overwhelm. Back home at Iran, Shayda’s personal choices and values don’t exactly align with her culture and she struggles to adapt to the West, or stresses being rejected due to her background. As a Muslim and former Hijab wearer, it only exacerbates her internal strife as she tries to figure out what’s best for herself and her daughter. Leaving a traditional culture under harsh circumstances comes at the cost of being alienated by your community, even losing connection with family.
The dance scenes throughout the film encompass a beautiful, unfettering journey Shayda undergoes as a woman striving for independence. At home, Shayda and Mona enjoy dancing together as they follow an Iranian dance programme on the TV, then one night Shayda gets invited by her girlfriends to go to the club to dance. Wearing a glittered dress, Shayda reluctantly embarks on a night of liberation, dancing the night away with Rozalla’s ‘Everybody’s Free‘ playing in the background. Things seem to go as planned with Shayda enjoying letting herself go for once with no responsibilities, but as we soon see, that is not the case. Her friend Elly (Rina Mousavi) brings her cousin Farhad (Mojean Aria) over, which doesn’t ruin Shayda’s ability to enjoy the night but does bring unease.
While the rest of her girlfriends are having a great time, Shayda soon starts to be overwhelmed by the crowd, starting to see hallucinations of Iranian men staring at her and eventually her husband. She rushes out of the club as she struggles to hold herself together, Elly comes over expressing concern and reassures that her husband is not at the club. Even going as far as asking how long will she let her past and Hossain determine and imprison her livelihood. Living in fear and paranoia is not how you live your life, but the fact is Elly lacks the perspective of a survivor so how could she begin to comprehend Shayda’s pain? You can sympathise and understand she is in pain but that doesn’t mean you can feel her pain.
Later on, during Nowruz, Shayda and Mona are at Elly’s party and they all dance together with Farhad and the local Iranian community. Though, Hossain somehow finds them and puts Mona on the spot, accusing her of being brainwashed into wanting to stay with her mom and not wanting to leave with her dad to Iran. He then spots Shayda and Farhad getting close which breaks into a violent altercation with Shayda close to dying and Farhad beaten. It isn’t until the end when Shayda and the rest of the women at the shelter have fun night indoors, dancing together to an Iranian song that we see the true freedom Shayda has been longing for. To celebrate letting go with others who are also learning to let go, heal from their wounds and fight for their rights.
“Persian New Year (Nowruz) starts on the first day of Spring. A time of rebirth, when everything is new again“
A key motif during the film is the importance of Autumn. This season hints at maturity and the passage of time as leaves begin to fall from trees and the world starts to take new shape in preparation for the big winter and the upcoming spring when the Persian New Year takes place. When Farhad stops by at the library, he and Shayda converse about Autumn, how it symbolises letting go and the shedding of one’s skin. They take deep breaths and close their eyes, which is a heart-warming moment that says so much with so little. A small scene that epitomises the film’s core message gracefully.
Zar Amir Ebrahimi delivers an extraordinary performance. She is the driving force for the film and the extent to which she portrays Shayda’s emotional depth can be felt through the screen. Selina Zahednia performs incredibly and this film being her debut as a 7 year old is astonishing. She deftly captures the innocence and sheer vulnerability that comes with a child lost in the tides between a mother and father’s conflict. What makes this film work so well is the beautifully sincere chemistry between Zar and Selina. Their emotionality leaves you trembling as you see an authentic mother-daughter bond turn a new leaf, responding to each other’s challengers as they figure out their new life together.
Shayda’s efforts hoping to inspire intergenerational freedom and human rights for her daughter is empowering. Not only is this film heart rendering for how it provides an honest outlook of women struggling to leave their past behind as survivors, but it also celebrates the communion of women as the women’s shelter hosted by the ever so kind Joyce (Leah Purcell), championing women of different backgrounds together, showing solidarity against a patriarchal society. But it’s evident that Hossein is not solely to blame for everything as Noora paints a bigger picture about the system that encourages this power imbalance. He is only part of a bigger problem unfortunately.
Overall, Shayda is an emotionally stirring drama, a film of great importance and meaning that embodies an appreciative understanding of how immigrant women try to overcome their past and start anew. A deeper, poignant reflection on the battles for female agency and the many fears that force women to look over their shoulders, burdened by society’s constraints, never really knowing if they are safe. Noora Niasari’s grounded approach conveys a universal message, with a personal touch by including her own experiences and the bravery her mother showed against oppression and violence with documented footage during the credits, which gives this film tremendous weight and historical insight into how capable mothers can be in fighting for their children’s future freedom. Zar Amir Ebrahimi is the backbone of this film as she gives the finest performance of the year.
Shayda is now playing in UK theatres.
