Director: Noora Niasari

Stars: Zar Amir Ebrahimi, Selina Zahednia, Osamah Sami, Leah Purcell, Mojean Aria

Zar Amir Ebrahami, star of the excellent Iran-set thriller ‘Holy Spider’, shifts to more low-key fare with this affecting 90s set Australian drama, a semi-autobiographical tale from writer-director Noora Niasari. Ebrahami is the titular character, an Iranian woman who has just moved into a women’s shelter with her daughter Mona (Zahednia, great) after fleeing her abusive husband Hossein (Sami). The family had moved from Iran four years earlier so Hossein could study medicine. The Persian New Year is approaching, and Shayda wants to make it a special occasion for her daughter. Unfortunately, her husband has been granted access and is threatening to take Mona back to Iran. But as Shayda bonds with the disparate selection of women in the shelter, she finds the confidence to assert herself, despite regular phone calls to her mother back in Iran who advises her to give her abusive husband a second chance for appearance’s sake, indicating the internalised patriarchy of Iranian society. The script errs towards the soapy and predictable at times, but Sherwin Akbarzadeh’s tactile handheld camera work imbues the drama with a documentary intimacy and the excellent Ebrahami keeps it anchored, investing Shayda with a poised dignity.

David Willoughby

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