Review by Susanne Nielsen
A woman sits with her six year old daughter and receives instructions how to be and stay safe from the child’s estranged father. It is a very emotional scene that immediately sets the stage for the story of “Shayda”, for which Iranian-Australian filmmaker Noora Niasari’s directorial debut is named. Its main character, played with great audience connection by French-Iranian actor Zar Amir Ebrahimi, shows the young Iranian mother’s courage and love for the life of her six year old daughter (played wonderfully by Selina Zahednia as Mona).
We meet them, sometime in the 1990s, post the altercation that led them to take refuge at an Australian women’s shelter during the two weeks of Persian New Year (Nowruz). After fleeing her abusive husband Hossein (Osamah Sami, convincingly portrayed by Osamah Sami, a university student whom his young wife and child had accompanied from their native Iran, Niasari describes Shayda’s first careful steps navigating life alone in a new country with the help of her new-found friends. How will she navigate her Iranian expat community that continues to live by its traditional values? The scenes of the father’s visits with his daughter illustrate the child’s confusion and the “dance” between the two worlds.
The film, based upon a true story (photos during the credits show the mother and daughter who served as its inspiration), does include Shayda’s efforts to convince her Iranian husband to accept her, and her new-found understanding of how life is lived in another culture. Hossein with initial charm and more and more frustration, tries to draw his wife and his their daughter into returning home to Iran. His wish that all resume their former given roles, lead to an increasingly tense drama.
While Shayla follows the path of many women who are victimized in their marriages, as an immigrant Niasari shows how she has to navigate the two cultures, with ties to her past life that continues to hold her captive in her new found country. She has to not only learn new cultural values but also quickly find a voice in a new language. The director shows a translator accompanying her process of liberation and also excellently providing added cultural information.
Her Australian advocates sensitively guide her to stay protected and yet still be able to interact with her Iranian culture and to share its positive values with her child, i.e. attending a holiday celebration and visiting with her Iranian exile community. Though the women in this group accept the old values that restrict women compared to freedoms enjoyed by their Australian sisters, in the end it is these women, though tied to their cultural heritage who help Shayda to separate herself from her husband without giving up her love of her culture.
In this story, they, too, learn that the treatment of Shayda, and all women as victims cannot continue. Against the backdrop of Australia’s contemporary special concern for victims of marital abuse, this film, produced in part by celebrity Nicol Kidman, sends the message that no matter the cultural differences, intimidation both verbally and physically is acceptable and that immigrants are as protected as are those born in the country. It is film filled with hope, an important film that speaks to our global outlook and the lessons for a peaceful coexistence.
Additional Film Information:
Cast: Leah Purcell, Zar Amir Ebrahimi, Osamah Sami, Mojean Aris
Directed and written by: Noora Niasari
Genre: Drama
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for thematic material involving domestic abuse, some violence and language.
Running Time: 1 hr. 57 min.
Opening Date: Now Playing
Released in: Select Theaters and Amazon Prime Video