Noora Niasari
Directing
Biography
Noora Niasari is an Iranian-Australian film director based in Australia. Born in Iran and raised in Australia, she initially studied architecture at the University of Technology Sydney, before turning to filmmaking, later receiving a Masters of Film & Television from the Victorian College of the Arts (Melbourne University). Niasari's debut feature film SHAYDA, starring Zar Amir Ebrahimi and executive produced by Cate Blanchett, had its world premiere at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival, where it won the Audience Award in the World Dramatic Competition and was acquired by Sony Pictures Classics for North American distribution. It went on to be selected as Australia's official submission for Best International Feature Film at the 96th Academy Awards. Noora continues to focus on stories that shine a light on Iranian women, currently working on an adaptation of Mahsa Rahmani Noble’s novel ‘Raya’. Her ongoing work is a powerful vessel for representation and cultural understanding in cinema.
Known For
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.
Shayda
Tâm wakes up in a strange hotel room. As she pieces together the night before, she realizes she is not alone.
Tâm
Reality and expectation collide as Mona delves into her past and prepares to meet her estranged Iranian father.
17 Years and a Day
In 1979, acclaimed Iranian actor Manouchehr Farid fled his country, turning his back on the stage. Inside an Australian detention center, he finds new purpose.
Simorgh
The devastating Chilean earthquake of 2010 damaged over 370,000 homes. The city of Talca was near its epicentre, leaving many historic neighbourhoods in ruins. CASA ANTÚNEZ is an intimate portrait of one beloved home in Talca, and how its destruction reveals a divided family. When the mother sells the adobe ruins to her architect son José Luis, his brothers and cousins are sceptical about his intentions. Over three years, we witness their psychological process of losing a childhood home as they confront the future of its land. CASA ANTÚNEZ is a poetic homage to the very notion of ‘home’ after a disaster.
Antúnez House
While on a family road trip, the tension builds as 14-year-old Zahra struggles to accept her mother’s fiancé.