Leila Sansour to take film Open Bethlehem to America

Leila Sansour, the United Kingdom-based Palestinian director of Open Bethlehem, returned to the UAE last month to launch a new crowdfunding campaign to raise money to take the movie on a tour of cinemas in the United States.

Sansour’s film, the product of eight years of filming in Bethlehem, was originally intended to be a one-year project documenting her return to her native city to witness the construction of the so-called “defensive wall” around the historic town.

However, the film grew into a campaign to raise awareness about the situation in Bethlehem, using the town as a microcosm to explore the injustices taking place across the Palestine.

Sansour estimates that at least 15,000 people have seen her film in UK cinemas since its release in December last year. The film was also screened at the Royal Geographical Society in London and there are plans to show it at the British Parliament alongside a debate on Palestine.

Original article by Chris Newbould

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Leila Sansour to take film Open Bethlehem to America