The Idol

A rare feel-good story from Palestine, skillfully assembled.
The Hollywood Reporter

The director of Paradise Now and Omar, Hany Abu-Assad, has directed this charming film about Mohammed Assaf. Mohammed is the 23-year-old Gaza boy who won the Arabic Idol and the hearts of a whole Arabic world. He became the symbol of hope for the Palestinian people. In the first part of the film we follow Mohammed as a child, where he with his sister Nour and their two friends Ashraf and Omar tries to start a band. The group of friends search in all directions and use all resources to provide themselves with instruments. The tempo is high and the dynamic between them is moving. In the second part of the film Mohammed is grown older and subsists by driving a taxi, but he still dreams of becoming a singer. And when auditions for the next Idol are in Cairo, the dream is suddenly possible. Idol is a feel-good film from Gaza with amazing performances and beautiful music – cannot miss this!