He rose to fame as the winner of the second season of Arab Idol, broadcast by the MBC network across the region. However, Assaf never forgot his roots and two years ago he was named a goodwill ambassador for peace by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).

His rise to fame and his work supporting refugees is set to expand to an even bigger audience with news this month that his remarkable story is set to take to the silver screen and is being made into a feature film by an Oscar-nominated director.

A snippet of the film, which was shot in Jordan and was directed by Palestinian filmmaker Hany Abu Assad, whose 2005 film ‘Paradise Now’ and 2013’s ‘Omar’ were nominated for Academy Awards, was unveiled on MBC on March 23.

With his rising profile politics could be his next field as he was appointed an ambassador of culture and arts by the Palestinian government and was offered a position with “diplomatic standing” by the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas.