The case of Palestinian Mohammad Assaf is significantly different however. When he won Arab Idol in 2013, singing nationalist songs of unity and beating rivals from other Arab nations, the public response was tumultuous. Thousands gathered for festivities in all the towns and cities across Palestine. He united politicians from all factions and became the symbol of the nationalist cause for people from all walks of life.

His story is now the subject of a film, The Idol, directed by twice Academy Award-nominated Hany Abu-Assad (Omar), co-produced by KeyFilm and selected for Toronto. Telling Assaf’s story from the age of ten through to his victory, it details the numerous hurdles he had to surmount, not least in battling his way to the show’s auditions. He was detained at the Egyptian border for two days, then had to scale the wall and force his way into contention having been told that the doors were closed to new applicants. Even then when it seemed all was lost he sang to his fellow contestants, only for one to offer up his place, convinced of Assaf’s star quality.

“He did not give up on letting his voice be heard by the world, he tried to escape all the obstacles, he kept fighting,” comments Abu-Assad, who is based in Holland. “The film is really about two things. You have to continue fighting until you get what you want and, secondly, art can change ugliness into beauty.”

The film uses actual footage from the streets of Gaza showing the explosive reaction to Assaf’s victory. “It is impossible to replicate that same level of excitement, even if you were to get the same crowds together again in the same place. It feels better when it’s real. You feel that, oh my god, this is a real story, not fabricated in Hollywood.”

While some liken the film to Danny Boyle’s Slumdog Millionaire, another tale of a boy’s rise from poverty to national prominence via an enormously popular TV programme, Abu-Assad tells how he was influenced more by the Iranian film The Runner by Amir Naderi (1978).

“Nobody knows this movie, it’s funny that I had inspiration from a film that nobody knows. It is about a homeless boy trying to survive in a port city in Iran, made even before the Islamic revolution. It is one of the masterpieces, a kind of biography of the author himself. And if you watch the movie you will see one scene that I just took. It is a homage for sure, but it is really an amazing movie about fighting until you get what you want.”

Abu-Assad makes it clear that he doesn’t get involved in festival strategies or distribution choices and that the business side is handled by his very competent producers. Nevertheless when asked about his hopes for the film, he returns to the theme of the good fight, but widening it into the political domain.

“What I hope is the following. I really try to make easily accessible movies but about something that is important. And what is important is these people in Gaza, and in Palestine in general, being neglected. Right now, their narrative is just found in the arthouse cinema. We didn’t have the chance yet to give our narrative towards the bigger audience. It is very important to us because the more we get sympathy for our cause the quicker this problem will be resolved peacefully, hoping that the pressure on Israel will be bigger in order to stop the occupation and the repression of the Palestinians. It is very important therefore to let our voice be heard within a bigger, emotional story.”

^{Hany Abu-Assad}

Script: Hany Abu Assad in collaboration with Sameh Zuabi Production: Idol Film Production (UK), Cactus World Film (UK) Co-production: KeyFilm (NL), September Film Productions (NL) Sales: Seville International