When the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art exhibits paintings by the acclaimed artist Nicky Nodjoumi shortly after the 1979 Islamic Revolution, religious hardliners ambush the work sparking a family journey filled with art, survival, estrangement and love. This hybrid political thriller and verité portrait dives into the mystery surrounding the “treasonous” paintings by the seminal painter who is not only one of the most celebrated Iranian modern artists, but also Sara’s father.
Status
In release
About the Filmmakers
Co-Director, Co-Producer
Sara Nodjoumi
Sara Nodjoumi produced WHEN GOD SLEEPS, co-produced by ITVS, executive produced by Motto Pictures, Catapult Film Fund, and Fork Films, and supported by numerous foundations including the Sundance Institute, Jerome Foundation, and NYSCA. The film premiered in competition at the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival and went on to win a number of international awards including the Golden Heynal Award for Best Music Doc at the Krakow Film Festival and Most Valuable Film of the Year from Cinema for Peace in Berlin, in addition to being shortlisted for a German Academy Award in 2018. Nodjoumi is currently working on the release of her latest feature documentary REGGAE BOYZ about the healing power of soccer and music in Jamaica. After delighting audiences from Berlin to the Bahamas, and earning a nomination for best feature documentary from the German Television Academy, REGGAE BOYZ went on to win the Audience Award at the 2019 Brooklyn Film Festival. Nodjoumi also produced the feature documentary THE IRAN JOB, which was released theatrically and on Netflix worldwide. In Germany, the film was shortlisted for a German Academy Award. For THE IRAN JOB, Nodjoumi managed two of the most successful Kickstarter campaigns of all time. In 2016, she was invited to attend the Sundance Creative Producer’s Summit and in 2017 she was an IFP Cannes Producer’s Network Fellow.
Co-Director, Co-Producer
Till Schauder
Till Schauder, originally from Germany, is a Brooklyn-based writer, director, and cinematographer. His feature debut SANTA SMOKES – which Schauder wrote, co-directed, and starred in – won several awards, including Best Director at the Tokyo International Film Festival and the Studio Hamburg Newcomer Award. In 2012, Schauder completed his critically acclaimed first documentary THE IRAN JOB, which was released worldwide, mentioned as an Oscar contender, and shortlisted for a German Academy Award. His 2017 documentary WHEN GOD SLEEPS premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival, won Most Valuable Documentary of the Year from Cinema for Peace during Berlinale, and the Golden Heynal Award at the Krakow Film Festival, along with several other international recognitions. It was also shortlisted for a German Academy Award in 2018, had its US broadcast premiere on Independent Lens in 2018, and has since been released on Amazon. Schauder also recently completed WARRIORS OF FAITH (GLAUBENSKRIEGER), a feature documentary about Iraqi refugees in Germany combating ISIS through performance arts, for which he won the German Television Academy Award for Best Documentary and the ARD Top of the Docs Award. The film was also a nominee for the Prix Europa. Schauder’s latest film REGGAE BOYZ was called “one of the funniest and most entertaining documentaries to come out in years” by film-rezensionen.de. It recently won the Audience Award at the 2019 Brooklyn Film Festival.