Champ of the Camp
Feature Docs
Available now on iTunes Arabia, Apple TV (Middle East).
A film by Mahmoud Kaabour
A Veritas Films production
UAE, Qatar, Lebanon co-production
(75', 2013)
“Slick… A popular charmer” – Variety
“Entertaining, revealing” – The Hollywood Reporter
“A rare and touching look at the lives of Dubai’s migrant workers” - CNN
Awards:
Esquire Magazine's Man at His Best Awards 2014 - Humanitarian Award for Mahmoud Kaabour
Digital Studio Awards - Best Production 2014
Business Insider Magazine - 100 Most Powerful Arabs Under 40 for Mahmoud Kaabour
Festivals (Abridged):
DocsDF, Tromsø International, DOK München, CBGB, Dubai International.
Synopsis:
Hailed by critics for its entertaining yet highly sympathetic look at a human issue that has troubled the Arabian Gulf for decades, “Champ of the Camp” is the first feature-length documentary shot in the labor camps of the United Arab Emirates.
It follows a massive Bollywood singing and trivia competition among thousands of laborers, and puts a face to this vast and isolated population of men who come to build the dream cities of the Arab world while supporting their societies and economies back home in India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh.
At once funny, heart-wrenching, and full of beautiful songs, the film alternates between the X-Factor style suspense of the competition and the subhuman reality of the labor environment, introducing us along the way to memorable characters who may be on their way to fame.