Shayda
“A love letter to mothers and daughters everywhere”
Shayda, a young 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 for Mona. Buoyed by the approach of Nowruz, she tries to forge a fresh start with new and unfettered freedoms. But when a judge grants Hossein visitation rights, he reenters their life, stoking Shayda’s fear that he’ll attempt to take Mona back to Iran.
This film offers a tender yet anxious slow-burn, exploring a mother's fierce resilience amidst domestic struggle and cultural displacement. It's an intimate portrait of hope and fear, wrapped in a humanistic lens, as a woman strives for freedom and a fresh start for her daughter.
