When Tehran-born writer-director Noora Niasari told producer Vincent Sheehan about the time she spent living in a women's shelter during her childhood, on which her film 'Shayda' was to be based, he realised he was being told a "distinctly Australian" story, but one he had never seen on the screen before.
An award-winning Sundance selection and a documentary portrait of an Australian music icon will screen as gala films at this year's Melbourne International Film Festival.
Writer-director Noora Niasari's 'Shayda' has been hailed by reviewers at the Sundance Film Festival as a powerful, gripping and affecting debut.
A quartet of Australian films has made it into the line-up for next year's Sundance Film Festival, with Robert Connolly's 'Blueback', Noora Niasari's 'Shayda', Daina Reid's 'Run Rabbit Run' and Danny Philippou and Michael Philippou's 'Talk To Me' all set to screen.