Hany Abu-Assad on directing The Idol - the story of Mohammed Assaf’s life

The world premiere of The Idol at the Toronto film festival was lauded by audiences and critics alike on Sunday.

Perhaps more importantly, film buyers seem to be as happy as the audiences, with strong sales in a number of key territories suggesting that the movie – based on the incredible life story of Mohammed Assaf, the young Palestinian wedding singer who beat the odds to win Arab Idol in 2013 and has become a global superstar – could become the most successful Arab film to date.

Assaf attended the premiere of the film, along with director Hany Abu-Assad, Qais Atallah, the child actor who plays Mohammed Assaf in the first part of the film, and Ahmad Qassim and Abdelkarim Abu Baraka, who play his childhood friends.

Speaking to The National the day after the triumphant debut, Abu-Assad, the director of Oscar-nominated thrillers Omar (2013) and Paradise Now(2005) said that he was overwhelmed by the reception, the best he has received for any of his films at the festival.

“Listen, this is my third time in Toronto and because of that, when I come, I know what to expect and it seems so familiar – and yet, the audience can still be surprising,” he says.

Original article by Kaleem Aftab

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Hany Abu-Assad on directing The Idol – the story of Mohammed Assaf’s life