The Idol (2015)

Mohammed Assaf, an aspiring musician living in Gaza, sets a seemingly impossible goal: to compete on the program "Arab Idol."

Director:

Hany Abu-Assad

Writers:

Hany Abu-Assad (screenplay), Sameh Zoabi (screenplay)

Stars:

Tawfeek Barhom, Kais Attalah, Hiba Attalah

2 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tawfeek Barhom	...	Mohammed Assaf
Kais Attalah	...	Mohammed Assaf (younger) (as Qais Attallah)
Hiba Attalah	...	Nour (as Hiba Attahllah)
Ahmad Qasem	...	Young Ahmad (as Ahmad Qassim)
Abdel Kareem Barakeh	...	Young Omar (as Abdalkarim Abubaraka)
Teya Hussein	...	Young Amal
Dima Awawdeh	...	Amal
Ahmed Al Rokh	...	Omar (as Ahmad Rokh)
Saber Shreim	...	Ahmad
Amer Hlehel	...	Kamal
Manal Awad	...	Mohammed's Mother
Walid Abed Elsalam	...	Mohammed's Father (as Waleed Abd Elsalem)
Eyad Hourani	...	Ali Kushk
Ashraf Barhom	...	Hehler - The Smuggler
Nadine Labaki	...	Shadia

Storyline

Since his early years in his native Gaza, Mohammed Assaf has had a golden voice. Accompanied by his sister Nour and two of his friends, he sings in courtyards first and later at weddings while Kamal helps him to develop the full range of his vocal capacities. Nour unfortunately dies of kidney failure and Mohammed grows up in sorrow and bitterness, all the more as war strikes his hometown. In 2012, he is a student and drives a taxi to finance his studies. He wants to start singing again but he can envisage singing as a career only in leaving Gaza. His only hope is to participate in the famous "Arab Idol" contest. But how to leave the place without a visa?

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Plot Keywords:

ends with text | ends with real life footage | what happened to epilogue | 21st century | 2010s | 

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Genres:

Biography | Comedy | Drama | Music

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Japan]

Country:

Palestine UK Qatar Netherlands Egypt United Arab Emirates

Language:

Arabic Spanish

Release Date:

2 June 2016 (Netherlands)

Also Known As:

Idol

Filming Locations:

Jenin, Palestine

Box Office

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$343,059

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cactus World Films, Fortress Film Clinic, Full Moon Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The true story (with a few fictionalized elements) of Mohammed Assaf, a singer from Gaza, who was the winner of the second season of "Arab Idol".

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Soundtracks

Safini Marra
Performed by Mohammad Assaf (listed on IMDB as Mohamed Assaf)
Lyrics by Samir Mahboob
Composed by Mohammad El-Moogy
Edited by Habib Shehada Hanna
Licensed by SACERAU - Society of Authors, Composers and Publishers of Music.

User Reviews

A good heartfelt true story

I do love a good heartfelt true story, and this was right up my alley. I was hooked from the start and felt really bad for the sister, who would have had to have been the best actor in the movie (the main character as a boy had to be the worst I thought). The missed a trick however when they didn't really refer back to her in the Idol run.

The movie however was not without it's flaws. The splicing in of the Arab Idol took away from the emotion at the end of the movie and put a dampener on the movies end.

This however was only a minor detail as in overall terms this was a good movie which shows how reality shows can actually be important things for certain peoples.