One of our most anticipated titles out of Sundance 2023 has found a home following its world premiere at the fest, where it took home the Audience Award in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition. Sony Pictures Classics has landed rights to “Shayda,” Noora Niasari’s feature debut. A press release announced the news.

Counting Cate Blanchett among its exec producers, “Shayda” follows an Iranian woman living in Australia who “finds refuge in a women’s shelter with her six-year-old daughter, Mona. Having fled her husband, Hossein, and filed for divorce, Shayda struggles to maintain normalcy and create a new home for Mona. Buoyed by the approach of Nowruz (Persian New Year), Shayda tries to forge a fresh start with new and unfettered freedoms. But when a judge grants Hossein visitation rights, he reenters their life, fueling Shayda’s apprehension that he’ll attempt to take Mona back to Iran,” the film’s synopsis teases.

“I have held the deepest admiration for Sony Pictures Classics since childhood. For my debut feature to be distributed by them is a dream. I know they will set the stage for a wonderful release, so that audiences worldwide can experience the emotional depth and power of ‘Shayda,’” said Niasari.

Sony Pictures Classics emphasized that Niasari’s characters are “beautifully relatable and her relationships formed with honesty, humanity, and the warmth that can come from family and community.”