Academy Award-nominated Palestinian filmmaker Hany Abu-Assad (Paradise Now, Omar)'s latest film, The Idol, will have its world premiere at next month's Toronto International Film Festival, where it will screen as part of the festival's Special Presentations.
The film tells the true story of regional favourite Mohammad Assaf, the wedding singer from Gaza who became a worldwide sensation after winning the live-singing competition Arab Idol in 2013.
The movie was co-financed by Doha Film Institute, and as part of that deal two Qatari film makers, Yousef Al Moadhadi and Leena Al Musalmani, recently travelled to London to assist Abu-Assad with post-production as interns.
Al Musalmani commented: “This has been such a valuable experience for me to gain first-hand experience on a feature production. It was amazing to observe the dynamic of the crew and how they are working as a team towards one goal and supporting each other to achieve it.”
cnewbould@thenational.ae