It's not safe to be shaving beards and singing pop songs in the northern Iraqi town of Mosul. Mohamed Yunis is 26 years old. His day job is a barber - but he loves to sing.
Living with his mother and feeling stifled by restrictions, Mohamed decides to go to Beirut to perform in a singing competition. He will compete in the Arabic pop idol competition - he hopes winning this competition will propel him into a glittering career in singing.
Mohamed's mother is not convinced. In the past she has tried to persuade him to sing religious chants rather than pop songs. So if he doesn’t come back from Beirut having won, the shame will be doubly bad.
The pressure is on, and the competition is tough. Will Mohamed make it? Will he succeed for himself? Will he be an Iraqi success story?
Away from the pressures of family and a city under siege, Mohamed sits in Beirut's bustling streets one night and contemplates when this city's type of freedom will come to Iraq.
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About Al Jazeera - Witness
Rageh Omaar presents Witness, a half-hour daily documentary series which features short, specially commissioned or acquired films gathered from independent filmmakers.
Each documentary reveals the unknown lives of ordinary people, following their lives, telling their stories and portraying the challenges that confront them. Our witnesses are people in a situation or those who have observed them first hand.
The films cover conflict, belief, the past and the future and as well as bringing new stories to light they showcase the talents of a new breed of multi-skilled, frontline journalist. In the studio, Rageh will further explore the issues raised in the films, with expert guests on the subject matter and the filmmakers themselves.
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