the idol hany abu-assad

Many felt that Hany Abu-Assad provided a detailed, fittingly complex portrait of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict with his previous feature, Omar. While we were not among them, notices surrounding his latest picture, The Idol, are not only as strongthey also illustrate a work whose focus better serves the writer-director’s emotional and political interests.

Adopt Films will be giving The Idol a stateside release this spring. Ahead of that, naturally, is a domestic trailer, while yours truly will avoid out of a preference for entering this one as blindly as possible — but don’t let me stop you on those grounds. If reviews are reflective of the final result, Abu-Assad’s left us plenty to discover.

See the preview below (via Apple):

the idol poster

Synopsis:

Gaza. Synonymous to so many with conflict, destruction and despair but to Mohammed Assaf, and his sister Nour, Gaza is their home and their playground. It’s where they, along with their best friends Ahmad and Omar, play music and football and dare to dream big. Their band might play on secondhand, beaten-up instruments, but their ambitions are sky-high. For Mohammed and Nour, nothing less than playing the world-famous Cairo Opera Hall will do. It might take them a lifetime to get there but, as Mohammed will find out, some dreams are worth living for.

The Idol will enter a limited release on May 6.

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