At 26, Mohammed Assaf is one of the biggest household names in the Arab entertainment business.
And what better way to prove the Palestinian singer's iconic status, since winning Arab Idol in 2013, than to release a biopic about him?
Yes. This September 11, "The Idol" will premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, where thousands of movie enthusiasts, international actors and directors will learn the inspiring story of Assaf and the journey that brought him to stardom all the way from his humble beginnings in Gaza.
Assaf's fans associate him with hope, peace, determination and progress towards a better Middle East.
Directed by fellow Palestinian Hany Abu-Assad - who won an Oscar nomination and a Best Foreign Film Golden Globe for his 2005 film "Paradise Now," and received an Oscar nomination in the best foreign language film category for his 2013 movie "Omar" - the film has been much-anticipated by millions of Assaf's fans worldwide, while receiving positive reviews from critics who got a sneak peek behind-the-scenes.
The man of the hour will be attending the premiere in Toronto and is hoping both Arabs and non-Arabs will watch the movie.
“Yes, Insha’Allah, I am going to attend the screening,” Assaf told Gulf News's tabloid!
“I would like both Arabic and Western audiences to watch the movie,” said Assaf. “For the Arabic audience, I would like to give hope to the youth that despite the difficulties, things can happen. The developments and difficulties in the Arab world have made the youth depressed. I was depressed, but I never lost hope and kept insisting on achieving my goal. A person can fail a million times, but he will succeed if he stays determined and has the talent and will to achieve his goal.”
His bigger hopes are for the Western audiences to start looking at Palestine, in general, and Gaza in particular with a different eye.
“It is not as people think; a place of war, destruction and terrorism. On the contrary, Palestinians, and the people of Gaza in particular, love to live, they have hopes, they produce and invent despite the difficult circumstances they are living in. They always think of how they can make their lives better in spite of their pain.”
Although Assaf shared many personal details with the film's screenwriters Abu-Assad and Sameh Al Zubei, the script was written in a dramatic way with many imaginary events thrown in for flavor. The only non-imaginary part in the film is a cameo by Assaf himself.
As for Abu-Assad, he said, “I have tried to make Assaf’s story universal by focusing on his relationship with his sister. The brother-sister relationship is universal and people from different parts of the globe will relate to it. In addition to Assaf’s story, this movie reflects the reality of Gaza and Palestine.”
Filming on location was a challenge, said Abu-Assad.
“Due to the Embargo on Gaza we were unable to shoot there so we had to bring kids from Gaza to be part of the movie. I insisted that the main kids should be from Assaf’s home town. We also faced issues in finding filming locations,” he said.
“What amazed me the most during the shooting was the acting of Gaza kids, though they never acted before they were excellent on set.”
Toronto isn't the only city getting a taste of Palestine; after its premiere in Canada, the movie will be shown at the London Film Festival in October.
“We are planning to participate in as many international festivals as possible. As for the Oscars, we will submit it for the 2017 edition since the movie was not ready by the 2016 edition submission dates,” said Abu-Assad.
We've a feeling The Idol will be a real hit, especially if all of Assaf's 7.2 million followers on Facebook and 1.3 million on Twitter hit movie theatres to watch it!
