( CNN ) -- What is life like for the men who build Dubai 's skyscrapers ? Human rights groups have repeatedly drawn attention to the low wages and living conditions of the emirate 's corps of foreign workers ( mostly from south and southeast Asia ) , but there have been few attempts to scratch the surface of their everyday life beyond the construction sites . A new documentary that opened in Dubai cinemas this week is hoping to change all that . `` Champ of the Camp '' chronicles an annual singing competition that takes place in Dubai 's labor camps . Like many of the city 's migrant workers , the subjects put up with long working days , relative isolation and inhospitable weather so they can send money back home ; sometimes to children awaiting school fees or daughters awaiting dowries . `` Camp ka Champ '' ( the Hindi name applied to the contest ) offers them a rare bit of respite and the chance to earn cash prizes . `` The money I send back home to my family is how they make ends meet . It has n't been easy ; sometimes I feel I have no life , '' admits one contestant featured in the film . Western Union is the official sponsor of the competition . According to Rupa Vinod , the managing director at Right Track , the advertising agency that set up the contest , the UAE represents one of the largest markets for the money transfer firm . Many laborers use their services bi-monthly to send remittances . `` While there 's not a commercial angle to the contest , it does help build loyalty with the brand , '' Vinod admits . `` People ( in the camps ) might trust the brand a little bit more now that it 's closer to them . '' Likened to `` American Idol '' with a Bollywood twist , Champ of the Camp has become increasingly popular over the years . When it launched in 2006 , only 100 contenders auditioned . Last year , 3,000 applied . First-place winners take home AED10,000 ( $ 2,722 ) , other contestants can win items like TVs and home appliances . Though the subject of labor camps can be somewhat touchy in Dubai , with many expats living comparatively gilded lives at the expense of the city 's migrant workers , there seems to be a lot of curiosity about how these men -- squirreled away into tower blocks on the fringes of the city -- live their daily lives . More than 1,200 viewers turned up at the film 's premiere at the Dubai International Film Festival . `` The Dubai public has a curiosity about the men who built the city for them , '' explains Mahmoud Kaabour , the film 's director . `` Many people live here for years and enjoy the champagne lifestyle without ever knowing how the other half have come to be here or what kind of lives they have , '' he adds . One of the more touching story lines in the film follows Adnan , a Pakistani worker who helped construct the Burj Khalifa . `` He could always see it in the remote distance , but he never walked along the fountains , or enjoyed its restaurants or went up to see its viewing deck , '' says Kaabour , who took him back to the site during filming . `` He stared at the tower and gave a really poignant reflection on what life in the Burj might be like compared to life in the camps . It was one of the critical scenes in the movie , and it really excited viewers . '' At the end of the premiere , movie 's characters took to the stage and performed a live concert , eliciting a standing ovation from the crowd . In a rare moment of engagement , many viewers hugged the participants and posed in photos with them . Despite the movie 's popularity and critical acclaim , the journey from film festival to cinemas has been a financial struggle , and unless Kaabour gets more funding for his project , the likelihood it will last past this week is remote . `` The UAE is a tremendously expensive place to film , '' says Eva Sayre , the film 's producer . `` We were able to get a couple of grants , but otherwise , the entire thing came out of our own pockets . '' In hopes of raising enough money for marketing and distribution , Sayre and Kaabour have launched a crowd-funding campaign through aflamnah , a Middle East version of Kickstarter . `` We want the general public to hear the laborers tell their stories and to know who they are , but we also want to invite further pondering about the labor camp institutions , '' says Kaabour . `` We hope we cracked a dialogue that 's going to go a bit further now that the film has hit cinemas . ''
Hindi of Western Union a singing contest in Dubai 's labor camps . The movie 's subjects work long hours to send money home to their families . The contest is sponsored by the Camp Chronicles , which many use to send remittances .