John Safran

John Safran is a writer and filmmaker. From his Australian Film Institute Award winning series John Safran vs God (2004) through to his Prime Minister's Literary Award shortlisted Puff Piece (2021) he often spots fringe cultural trends that blow up into far bigger things. Depends What You Mean By Extremists (2016) saw John hanging with extremists, preempting the rise of the new far-right. Never a fly on the wall, John has been baptised in West Africa (Race Around the World), exorcised in the USA (John Safran vs God) and crucified in the Philippines (Race Relations). His upcoming SBS documentary sees him building an ancient Jewish mud monster, a golem, the first known person to do this in modern times. His obsession with exploring religion, and getting his hands dirty doing it, has seen him labelled Australia’s gonzo theologian.