Penis jokes are where the jokes stop. When musician Shahin Najafi, known as the Eminem of Iran and an avowed critic of the Iranian system, sang about the penis of an Imam in 2012, a fatwa was put out against him which included a bounty. Najafi moved to Germany in 2005, and since the fatwa the return to his home country is less possible than ever and the rebel has to be permanently afraid for his life. German documentarian Till Schauder (THE IRAN JOB) followed the outlaw artist for a few years and made the portrait WHEN GOD SLEEPS. The film shows how the musician‘s situation has influenced his life and has isolated him from the outside world. Many meetings take place in Najafi‘s apartment that is somewhere around Cologne and the curtains are usually drawn. The expat sleeps with a knife near him, has to replace his band members with German musicians (only the bassist has remained), and keeps changing his hair and beard to remain undetected. The stubborn guy, who wanted to be an Imam earlier on, never thinks about stopping. He records new songs while in German exile and shares critical videos on youtube which are celebrated by the underground, active fan community in Iran. When he wants to perform, his band members bail one by one, especially because the recent Eagles of Death Metal attack in Paris. But Shahin Najafi throws caution to the wind and buts head with his colleagues. The alternative – backing down and staying silent – would be just as bad.

Christian Horn

Translation: Elinor Lewy