About leilasansour

I am the founder and CEO of Open Bethlehem, an organisation that works to bring international commitment to the resolution of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict using Bethlehem as a focal point of engagement and a gateway into the situation. I hold a masters degree in philosophy and began my career in television, working as a producer and commissioning editor for MBC and then moved to produce 15 episodes of Aljazeera’s leading documentary series 'Encounter in Exile'. I'm best know in the UK for my feature-length documentary, 'Jeremy Hardy versus the Israeli Army' 2003 which received four- and five-star reviews in national press before its release across cinemas in the UK and its tour in the US as part of Amnesty International's Roaming Film Festival. My new feature film, ''Operation Bethlehem'', aims to work in tandem with the campaign Open Bethlehem which will be re-launched later this year. It tells my personal story of returning to Bethlehem to make a film about my home town, soon to be encircled by a wall. I had left the city as a teenager thinking Bethlehem too small and provincial. But my life and the film took an expected turn when my cousin and last relative in town, persuaded me to stay to start a campaign to save the city. My plan to stay a year stretched to seven, and the journey changed my life. The film also charts the creation of a campaign to compel international action to bring peace to the Middle East. My Virgin Short 'They came in the morning' , is a stand alone film that was born from some of the footage shot over 5 critical years in the life of Bethlehem during the making of "Operation Bethlehem".