Young Mohammad Assaf lives in Gaza with his sister Farrah, who shares his dream of singing one day at the Cairo opera. When Farrah is admitted to hospital for kidney failure, Mohammad promises the girl he will make their dream come true. For the aspiring singer, this is the beginning of a journey in Egypt that will take him to the 2013 edition of the talent show Arab Idol.
Biography
film director
Hany Abu-Assad
Hany Abu-Assad (Nazareth, Palestine, 1961) is considered one of the most important directors of the Arab world. He debuted in 1998 with the feature-length The Fourteenth Chick, which was followed by Rana’s Wedding and the documentaries Nazareth 2000 and Ford Transit. In 2005, he directed Paradise Now, which won him an Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Film, received a Golden Globe and, at the Berlinale, the Blue Angel Award, the Amnesty International Film Prize and the Jury Prize of the newspaper “Berliner Morgenpost.” Omar (2013) got him his second Oscar nomination and the Jury Prize in the section Un certain regard at the Cannes Film Festival.
FILMOGRAFIA
Het 14e kippetje (The Fourteenth Chick, 1998), Nazareth 2000 (doc., 2001), Al qods fee yom akhar (Rana’s Wedding, 2002), Ford Transit (doc., 2003), Paradise Now (2005), Stories on Human Rights (ep. A Boy, a Wall and a Donkey, 2008), Do Not Forget Me Istanbul (2011), The Courier (2012), Omar (2013), Ya Tayr El Tayer (Arab Idol, 2015).
Declaration
film director
“I see Arab Idol as the story of fighting and the will of surviving under extreme circumstances. It’s a story of hope and success where a brother and sister who were able to make from their disadvantages an advantage, and from the impossible possible, who come from nowhere to overcome all odds, beating poverty, oppression, and occupation. [….] I see Arab Idol in the tradition of Zorba the Greek, but with the hipness of Slumdog Millionaire. The film will have the honesty of The Class, the energy of Bily Elliot, the determination of The Shawnshank Redemption but will have its own unique humor and spirit.”
Cast
& Credits
Hany Abu-Assad
sceneggiatura/screenplay
Sameh Zoabi
fotografia/cinematography
Ehab Assal
montaggio/film editing
Eyas Salman
scenografia/production design
Nael Kanj
interpreti/cast
Tawfeek Barhom, Ahmed Al Rokh, Hiba Attalah, Kais Attalah, Abdel Kareem Barakeh, Nadine Labaki, Ahmed Qasem, Saber Shreim
produttori/producers
Hans de Wolf, Amira Diab, Ali Jaafar, Hanneke Niens
coproduttore/coproducer
Baher Agbariya
distribuzione/distribution
Adler Entertainment
contatti/contacts
Adler Entertainment
Mattia Della Puppa
mattia.dellapuppa@adler-ent.com
www.adler-ent.com