Sina Khani


Sina Khani is a German‑Iranian multidisciplinary artist, musician, comedian, and filmmaker, active in Amsterdam, Berlin, and Bochum. He is the creator and lead performer of the satirical web series Creeps From The Middle East, known for blending absurdist humor, mockumentary elements, and social critique.

Career

Early work and The Sina Khani Show

Sina Khani graduated from the Rietveld Academie Amsterdam in 2008. His graduation project The Sina Khani Show, produced via Mediamatic, mimics the late‑night talk show format with a subversive twist: “Sina Khani is the new David Letterman. Without the budget, without the connections and without the humor.”
Among his early works is the student short film Inhalal Versus Exhalal, which was screened at the Netherlands Film Festival.

Music

Khani has released several offbeat singles at Blowpipe Records. In a 2015 interview, he described transitioning from comedic performance to music and listed “Shrek” among his early releases.
In 2016 performed a hymn for the German football club VfL Bochum, expressing his admiration for the team.

''Creeps from the Middle East''

Khani is a principal creator of Creeps from the Middle East, a black-and-white, semi-scripted comedy series. The series blends satire, performance, and confrontation.
The series has featured a range of contributors from music, theatre, and comedy, including Mohsen Namjoo, Gover Meit, Adelheid Roosen, Michiel Lieuwma and Tarik Sadouma.

Media engagement and controversies

In 2024, FeltenINK reported that Hans Teeuwen was considering legal action over a scene in Creeps from the Middle East, following provocative interactions involving Khani.
Sina Khani appeared as guest in Open Geesten #26, a podcast episode where he discussed his independent format and creative philosophy.
Khani is a member of The Unsafe House, an Amsterdam-based art collective. The group has described its work as engaging with classical artistic themes and practices through contemporary and experimental methods. In collaboration with Curtis Yarvin, The Unsafe House proposed a project for the U.S. Pavilion at the 2026 Venice Biennale, intended to present an alternative approach to conventional exhibition formats.
In the Unsafe House Podcast, Khani and Ruth Spetter interviewed Tarik Sadouma, Mohsen Namjoo and Ronja Brainstorm.
Khani has made several public performances, including an appearance on the German dating show First Dates, during which he stated that no woman should date him.

Reception and criticism

Khani’s work often divides audiences. Ray Jackson of FeltenINK frames Creeps from the Middle East as deliberately provocative, pushing boundaries to expose ideological contradictions in art, religion, and media. Critical commentary has questioned whether the show’s shock tactics constitute meaningful critique or performative provocation.
Since August 2025, Khani has been contributing to the project Leipzig & The Wokies by The Unsafe House, a film documenting the cancellation of a planned event at the Academy of Fine Arts Leipzig following accusations of extremism.