Hany Abu-Assad will represent Palestine at the Oscars once again with his latest film "The Idol."

"The Idol" tells the story of Mohammed Assaf, an aspiring musician living in Gaza, wo sets a seemingly impossible goal: to compete on the program "Arab Idol." The film made its world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival last year and was picked up for distribution by Adopt Films. The movie was later released over the summer to rave reviews.

Abu-Assad's latest film is the third time the director represents the country at the Oscars. His previous two films "Paradise Now" and "Omar" were both nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. "Paradise Now" won the Golden Globe while "Omar" won the Jury Prize in the Un Certain Regard sidebar at the Cannes Film Festival.

Palestine began submitting to the Academy Awards in 2003 and has racked up two nominations. If "The idol" receives a nomination it will mark the third for the country and it will also mark the third time a Hany Abu-Assad film is nominated.

However, if it is to accomplish this, the film must first surpass competition that includes "The Distinguished Citizen," "Neruda," "Elle," "From Afar," "Land of Mine," "Toni Erdmann" and "Julieta. Other films that will be tough competitors include Italy's "Fire at Sea," Georgia's "House of Others," Romania's "Sieranevada," Belgium's "The Ardennes," Greece's "Chevalier," Estonia's "Mother," and Bosnia's "Death in Sarajevo."

The Foreign Language Film deadline to submit is Oct. 3. On Jan. 17 the Academy will announce the nine finalists from among the eligible films and on Jan. 24 nominations will be announced. The winner will be announced at the Oscar ceremony on Feb. 26.

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