I first came across Shayan and his band, Trivax, after a random thought led me to their profile on Metal Archives. Were there any black metal bands in Iran, I wondered? It turned out there were, and I immediately reached out to Shayan to invite him onto Into The Necrosphere. It's safe to say we became fast friends from there. As I got to know Shayan over the years and learned more about his story, I began to think that someone needed to make a documentary about it. Earlier this year, I decided that someone was going to be me. And so began an endeavour I'd never attempted before. I fumbled my way through an entirely new process, learning as I went, until I arrived at the end result: MURTAD. A documentary about resilience, the refusal to let your dreams die, and the reality of what it means to yearn for freedom when living under a religious theocracy. I'm not a professional filmmaker, and this was very much a journey into uncharted territory for me. But I poured countless hours into this project, approaching every question, every shot and every edit with the utmost respect — not only for Shayan and TRIVAX, but for everyone living under similar circumstances. This was never just about making a film about a band. It was about telling a story I believed deserved to be heard. I hope I've done my friend's story justice. MURTAD is out now on YouTube. youtu.be/GR2IWTxR9HA