Assaf biopic going to Toronto fest

CAIRO: From refugee camps to the world of Arab Idol, Mohammed Assaf’s story continues to travel. Its latest destination? The silver screen.
Oscar-nominated filmmaker Hany Abu Assad, a Palestinian like Assaf, has loosely based his film ‘The Idol — Ya Tayr Al Tayer’ on the pop star’s life. Based in Cairo and Beirut but filmed primarily in Jordan, the drama follows its protagonist’s journey from simplicity to superstardom, mixing humor with sorrow and struggle with hope.
The biopic will premiere at Toronto International Film Festival in September. Assaf may attend.
The singer’s new video, the Egyptian pop-inspired “Aywa Haghani” (Yes, I Will Sing) cleverly highlight Egypt, just as the 25-year-old readies to release his next album — as exclusively revealed to The National — which will be dedicated to Egyptian music stylings, due to be released this month.
Assaf told The National that “Egypt is acknowledged as the most important country when it comes to arts and culture and I have always loved the music and artists that came from there.”
“I also admired artists who are available to sing in different styles, so it is from that perspective that I wanted to do an album that is purely in the Egyptian dialect,” he added.