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.
Directed by Noora Niasari
shelter
divorce
mother daughter relationship
iranian new year
Trailer
IMDB
N/A
Letterboxd
3.5 / 5
Where to Watch
Cast
Zar Amir Ebrahimi
Shayda
Leah Purcell
Joyce
Jillian Nguyen
Vi
Osamah Sami
Hossein
Mojean Aria
Farhad
Rina Mousavi
Elly
Lucinda Armstrong Hall
Renee
Jack Bonser
Night Club Member (uncredited)
Catherine Glavicic
Miranda
Nicole Gulasekharam
Deb
Jerome Meyer
Pierre
Phillip McInnes
Police Officer
Crew
Noora Niasari
Director
Noora Niasari
Writer
Caitlin Gold
Executive Producer
Andrew Upton
Executive Producer
Naomi McDougall Jones
Executive Producer
Cate Blanchett
Executive Producer
Lindsay Lanzillotta
Executive Producer
Noora Niasari
Producer
Anousha Zarkesh
Casting Director
Popular Reviews
16 reviews
reagan cameron thurs
8.0★ · 04/07/25
beautiful, i hope all women are able to find peace
beautiful, i hope all women are able to find peace
alicia
8.0★ · 03/24/25
lo peor de los hijoputas es q van disfrazados de tio majo
lo peor de los hijoputas es q van disfrazados de tio majo
Natasha
7.4★ · 12/27/23
every iranian girl had bangs growing up
every iranian girl had bangs growing up
Matthew Huff
7.0★ · 10/08/23
Overview: Straight men are out to make your life miserable no matter where you’re from.
Best Performance: Shayda
Best Scene: The living room dance party.
Worst Thing About the Movie: Felt a little obvious and straightforward.
Special Shout-out: The goldfish.
Thought I Had While Watching: Love flirting in a library.
Role Anne Hathaway Should Have Played: The bitchy Australian woman.
Overview: Straight men are out to make your life miserable no matter where you’re from.
Best Performance: Shayda
Best Scene: The living room dance party.
Worst Thing About the Movie: Felt a little obvious and straightforward.
Special Shout-out: The goldfish.
Thought I Had While Watching: Love flirting in a library.
Role Anne Hathaway Should Have Played: The bitchy Australian woman.
Kapihana Pai
8.0★ · 01/20/23
A very strong debut feature based off the director’s personal story. Very excited to see what other stories she has to tell.
There was a Q&A afterwards and I do have to cringe on behalf of the director who got asked if she still had a relationship with her father after screening the movie that very much is the result of the trauma. Very classic Sundance Q&A vibe
A very strong debut feature based off the director’s personal story. Very excited to see what other stories she has to tell.
There was a Q&A afterwards and I do have to cringe on behalf of the director who got asked if she still had a relationship with her father after screening the movie that very much is the result of the trauma. Very classic Sundance Q&A vibe
