Project Detail

The Idol (Ya Tayr El Tayer)

Synopsis

A young boy in Gaza, Mohammad Assaf, dreams of singing in the Cairo Opera House with his sister and best friend, Nour. One day, Nour collapses and is rushed to the hospital where it is discovered that she needs a kidney transplant. Nour leaves Mohammad with a dying wish that someday, he will sing in Cairo. Escaping from Gaza to Egypt against unbelievable odds, Assaf makes the journey of a lifetime.
Directed by Academy Award® nominee Hany Abu-Assad and based on the incredible true story of Mohammad Assaf, the Gazan wedding singer who became a worldwide sensation after winning 'Arab Idol' in 2013.
Toronto International Film Festival 2015 - World premiere

Details

Year
2015
Type of project
Features
Running time
100 mins
Director
Hany Abu-Assad
Producer
Ali Jaafar, Amira Diab
Co-Producer
Baher Agbariya
Executive Producer
Badr Jafar, Bashar Masri, Harold van Lier
Editor
Eyas Salman
Screenwriter
Hany Abu-Assad, Sameh Zoabi
Director of Photography
Ehab Assal
Production Designer
Nael Kanj
Sound
Supervising Sound Editor: Lee Herrick; Sound Re-recording Mixer: Richard Pryke
Composer
Music Editor: Robin Morrison
Principal cast
Qais Atallah, Hiba Atallah, Ahmad Qassim, Abdelkarim Abu Baraka, Tawfeek Barhom, Saber Shreim, Ahmed Al Rokh, Nadine Labaki

Genre

Categories

Production Status

Production Company

UK, Palestine, Qatar, Netherlands, United Arab Emirates coproduction

Idol Film Production Ltd (UK), 03 FZ LLC (UAE), Cactus World Film (UK)

Sales Company

Seville International

455, St-Antoine West Suite 300
H2Z 1J1 Montreal
Quebec
Canada

Page updates

This page was last updated on 12th May 2025. Please let us know if we need to make any amendments or request edit access by clicking below.

See also

You may also be interested in other relevant projects in the database.

 About an Intimate Matter About an Intimate Matter

Director: Sandeep Kumar Paul

Year: 2026

Science teacher Swarna and her partner Driti move to a suburban town for a fresh start. When a student leaks intimate photos of Swarna online, school authorities turn her private life into a disciplinary issue. Official Selection Busan International Film Festival 2026 - World premiere

Denzel Baidoo as Marcus, forlorn at the dinner table. Clocks

Director: Yv Shells

Year: 2026

When Arlo arrives to find Marcus has cooked someone else’s favourite meal, a single question begins to unravel an evening that refuses to stay in the present. Through a fractured timeline set entirely within one dining room, we move between Marcus and Arlo and the relationship that came before, with Una, the woman he met at a late-night bus stop and once talked about marrying. The same table, the same chairs, the same arguments about trust, honesty and what it means to truly see someone. As the timelines bleed together, it becomes clear that Marcus has never fully left the past, and that Una’s ghost sits at every table he sets. When Arlo asks what her own favourite meal is and he cannot answer, the film’s quiet devastation lands completely. CLOCKS is a portrait of a man who loves generously but sees poorly, and the women who carry the cost. It asks what we owe the person in front of us while we are still in love with someone we lost, and whether a feeling ever truly ends.

Skintown Skintown

Director: Kieron J. Walsh

Year: 2026

1994. As Northern Ireland takes its first steps towards peace, best friends Vinny and Jonty are about to jump start their futures with the most reckless trip of their lives. Official Selection Busan International Film Festival 2026