The Idol (2015)

Since his early years in his native Gaza, Mohammed Assaf has had a golden voice. Accompanied by his sister Nour and two of his friends, he sings in courtyards first and later at weddings while Kamal helps him to develop the full range of his vocal capacities. Nour unfortunately dies of kidney failure and Mohammed grows up in sorrow and bitterness, all the more as war strikes his hometown. In 2012, he is a student and drives a taxi to finance his studies. He wants to start singing again but he can envisage singing as a career only in leaving Gaza. His only hope is to participate in the famous "Arab Idol" contest. But how to leave the place without a visa? —Guy Bellinger