Bilal: A New Breed of Hero

Bilal lives a peaceful life with his mother and his younger sister on the outskirt of the village until the Byzantine soldiers come, enslave them, and kill his mother.

During his childhood, he is sold as a slave to the richest man in the city of Mecca, Umayyah, one of the Quraysh's leaders. While getting water for his master, he encounters Okba, another of Quraysh's leaders, who is persuading the people of Mecca to come to his shop and buy various types of idols from him, and the mysterious and masked Charlatan Priest, who tricks people to give their money to him with promises that the idols will grant them all of their desires.

In another part of the city, Safwan, Umayyah's son, is bullying Ghufaira, Bilal's sister, along with his friends and is about to shoot her with an arrow when Bilal intervenes and saves her. Umayyah hears about this from one of his merchants and reminds Bilal of his status with brutality before ordering the guards to whip him. After that, Umayyah slaps Safwan for losing to a slave and embarrassing him.

One day, Bilal meets and befriends a white horse, whom he rides until adulthood. He becomes friends with Saad, a skilled archer. On his way back to Umayyah's mansion, he stops a hungry young boy from stealing from the idol's bowl to spare him a beating from the Meccan Priest's guards. He gives the boy his own food instead. His act of kindness is seen by Abu Bakr, a man who believes in equality for everyone and sees greatness in Bilal. However, Bilal doubts him and his beliefs, unable to see a future where slaves are treated fairly. Unbeknownst to both of them, Safwan's servant had been watching them while they had their conversation.

After receiving a gift from Sohaib, a slave of Persian origin purchased from the Roman lands, which is actually the gift from his master to Umayyah, Bilal is told to sing at Umayyah's feast at night. He leaves after his song to the sound of his master's friends mockingly praising, laughing, and insulting his late mother. The next day, Bilal goes back to Abu Bakr to ask for clarity and accepts his belief that there is only one God. He also learns that even people like Umayyah are slaves as well, their master being "greed".

At the next feast celebrating Safwan's first success as a merchant, another Quraysh leader named Abu al-Hakam, warned Umayyah of the new movement opposing them. Upon learning from al-Hakam that some of his fellow merchants are beginning to join the new movement, Umayyah is enraged by this and demands to know of any more traitors among his ranks. Seeing the opportunity, Safwan accuses Bilal of being part of the new movement. After being questioned by his master, Bilal then defies Umayyah and is taken to a cage where he is tortured every day to force him to renounce his claims. One day, Umayyah comes and offers him an opportunity to be a spy against the movement. Bilal does not yield and is then taken out to the public where he is chained in front of the Meccans. A large boulder is put on top of him to slowly crush him, but he was saved by Abu Bakr who buys him from his oppressive master.

Ghufaira, however, was given to Safwan by his father as a gift. He chooses not to sell her just to torture Bilal mentally. Three months later, after being sold off to his new master, Abu Bakr frees Bilal. Bilal is then taught how to fight with a sword by Hamza, who is the foster brother, paternal uncle, and also one of the companions of the movement's leader, while also traveling with them up north, fleeing from the persecution of the Meccans. One year later, after the migration to the great city of Yathrib, now renamed as Medina, Safwan sends Bilal a lock of Ghufaira's hair. Bilal immediately rides back to Mecca after receiving it, followed by Hamza. They find a part of the city on fire, where many who are part of the new movement are slaughtered by the order of Umayyah and his fellow corrupted merchants. Bilal hurries to Umayyah's mansion and is caught by the guards. Safwan then shows him a coin that Ghufaira had been keeping safe for Bilal. However, the coin is drenched in blood, implying that Ghufaira has been killed. Just as the guards are about to execute Bilal, Hamza steps in and saves him, after which they both successfully escape back to Medina.

A year later, two more cities join the new movement like Medina, resulting in Umayyah and his merchants deciding to declare war on them for threatening the Meccans' power. Amid the battle, Bilal faces Umayyah and asks that they end the war for the sake of peace. However, Umayyah refuses and is killed by Bilal. Due to the deaths of Umayyah and al-Hakam in the battle as well as help from divine warriors who come to the movement's aid, the army of Qurayshi Meccans quickly fall into disorganization and are subsequently defeated.

The death of Umayyah spreads fast in every city and the angry Safwan prepares for revenge with his troops from various allying cities of the peninsula. A year later, Hamza dies in another battle against the Qurayshi warriors of Mecca, becoming a martyr along with those who were killed in the battle.

Many years later, most of the cities in Arabia have fallen and only Mecca remains opposing the newly-emerged and unified polity. The High Priest of Mecca is dead after an attempt to please the idols by fasting. However, his attempt ends in vain and all idols of Mecca have proven to be powerless. Bilal confronts Safwan during the conquest of Mecca and asks why he had to kill Ghufaira. It was then revealed that Ghufaira was alive. Safwan reiterates Bilal's words, that a man is judged by his actions, and says that freeing Ghufaira will be his one act of morality. Bilal spares Safwan, leaves his chamber, and encourages him to continue on this path.

After Bilal and Ghufaira reunite, Safwan hears the noise coming from the city's holy site and comes out to see Bilal call for prayer at the Kaaba after the statue of Hubal and the other idols have been removed.

• Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje as Bilal:
  The hero of the story, Bilal's strong will often lands him in trouble with the masters of Mecca. Nonetheless, Bilal's yearning for a higher calling keeps him going, for no amount of physical or mental abuse are able to break his strife for freedom and equality.
  • Jacob Latimore as Bilal (teenager):
    Bilal's teenage years are torturous as he bears the wrath of his masters on a daily basis. It is in the love of his mother and sister where Bilal finds purpose. His mother's wisdom being the beacon of light that keeps him going, and reminds him to never enslave his heart, and break free.
• Ian McShane as Umayyah:
  Bilal's ruthless master, and the wealthiest merchant of the time and one of the Quraysh's leaders of Mecca. Much like his tribesmen, Umayyah suffers from a superiority complex that is amplified by his desire for power. What makes Umayya truly dangerous, however, is his ability to manipulate the people of Mecca by means of enforcing his will, one way or another.
• Dave B. Mitchell as Hamza:
  Known as “The Lion of God”, Hamza is a strong and wealthy warrior with a strong moral character, and brutal fighting skills. Feared and respected in all of Mecca no one dares to stand up against him. In this story, Hamza proves to be a worthy ally and mentor to Bilal.
• Cynthia McWilliams as Hamama:
  Bilal & Ghufaira's mother, and their inspirations. Descent of Ethiopian's royal blood, Hamama is a wise and elegant woman who was murdered by raiders. However, Hamama's voice still resonates in Bilal's heart and mind, helping him overcome the many unimaginable trials and distress he endures.
• Fred Tatasciore as Al Siddiq:
  The Lord of Merchants, father-in-law of the new movement's leader and also the first to catch sight of the goodness in Bilal. Al Siddiq approaches Bilal sensing his inner struggles and guides him patiently towards his salvation. When Bilal is severely punished for rising against his master, Al Siddiq offers to buy him which in turn wins Bilal his freedom.
• Fred Tatasciore as Charlatan Priest:
  The devil personified. This enigma is the eternal mischief mongerer in Bilal's world. No one has seen the face that lies behind that mask, and maybe there isn't even one. Heavily dependent on Umayya's corrupt system of business and trade, the priest compels the common people to worship idols and pay tribute in the form of food and money.
• Thomas Ian Nicholas as Saad:
  The son of a wealthy merchant who, along with his family, is not tainted by Umayyah's corruption. The courageous Saad was known for being the best archer of his time. A loyal friend to Bilal.
• China Anne McClain as Ghufaira:
  Bilal's supportive little sister. Bilal does all he can to protect her and keep her out of harm's way, which often leads to some form of punishment at the hands Umayyah and his cruel son Safwan.
• Jon Curry as Sohaib:
  Like Bilal, Sohaib is also a slave of Persian origin purchased from the Byzantine Empire, who's working for his master as a blacksmith. Big and strong, Sohaib can fight ten men without working up much of a sweat.
• Al Rodrigo as Abu al-Hakam:
  One of the Quraysh's leaders of Mecca and also Umayyah's right hand confidante, as crooked and mischievous as they come. Abu al-Hakam is a ruthless leader who inflicts his wrath upon anyone who dares question Umayyah's corrupted system of business and trade.
• Mick Wingert as Safwan:
  Umayyah's son and heir. Being so close in age to Bilal cultivates an animosity between the two, quickly turning into a rivalry of sorts. Safwan is constantly trying to impress the abusive Umayyah through his fighting, trade skills, and ruthless demeanor.
• Michael Gross as Okba:
  A mirror to the men of Bilal's time and also one of the Quraysh's leaders of Mecca along with Umayyah and al-Hakam. He is a greedy, shrewd, and sycophantic merchant. Known for being a joker, Okba has this ‘bubbly’ energy coupled with over-the-top theatrics leaning towards a feminine exuberance.[3][4]

The music was composed by Atli Örvarsson, with additional music by Claudio Olachea, performed by the London Symphony Orchestra at Abbey Road Studio. Örvarsson employed a unique blend of Icelandic music fused with Oriental music in order to develop a language that spoke to a wider audience. Music recording and mixing engineering on the show was done by Steve McLaughlin. Stephen Gallagher performed mix duties during the final mix of the show, also producing the song "Distant Shadows", with lyrics by Khurram H. Alavi.

The musical score and sound design were mixed and finalised at Peter Jackson's Park Road Post in Wellington, New Zealand. The final mix was handled by academy award-winning Michael Hedges and his team of seasoned PRP engineers.

A special screening was held at the Ajyal Youth Film Festival in Doha, Qatar on November 9, 2015. The film premiered at the 12th Annual Dubai International Film Festival on December 9, 2015. It continued its festival circuit over the course of 2016 being screened in Berlin, Cannes, Annecy, and Toronto. It was released in cinemas all across the MENA region. It was scheduled to be released in the US and other parts of the world on February 2, 2018.

The film has been also released in Turkey dubbed the lead character Bilal by Engin Altan Duzyatan.[6] Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan attended the premiere show and highly praised the film.[7][8]

The film was officially selected at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival under Best Feature Film. It was also nominated for APSA, the region's highest accolade in film for Best Animated Feature Film after winning "Best Inspiring Movie" in Animation Day in Cannes Festival and "Best Innovative Movie" at the BroadCast Pro Middle East Award. The film was also nominated for “Best Animated Feature Film” at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards (APSA) and screened at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, USA last March 2017. The film is currently in the list for 100 best animated feature films by USA Today, as well as in the Top 10 of 2018 list of animated movies on IMDB.

• List of Islamic films
• List of animated Islamic films
• Muhammad in film

• Official website
• Bilal: A New Breed of Hero at IMDb
• Bilal: A New Breed of Hero at Rotten Tomatoes
• Bilal: A New Breed of Hero at Metacritic