BAHRAIN CINEMA CLUB – Wednesday, 7pm, Juffair, September 4
Film: Shayda
Director: Noora Niasari
Duration: One hour and 57 minutes
Cast: Leah Purcell, Zar Amir Ebrahimi, Lucinda Armstrong Hall
Plot: After fleeing from her abusive marriage, a young Iranian mother and her six-year-old daughter find refuge in an Australian women’s shelter during the two weeks of the Iranian New Year (Nowruz).
Set in the 1990s, Shayda is partly based on writer and director Noora Niasari’s own childhood experiences, when her mother fled Iran.
The drama premiered at Sundance film festival in 2023, where it won the Audience Award in the World Cinema Dramatic competition, and it was Australia’s official entry for the Oscars in the same year.