Planet Bethlehem | Planet Bethlehem (UK)

LEILA SANSOUR Producer & Director, Planet Bethlehem (UK)
Leila Sansour is a British/ Palestinian filmmaker and journalist with more than 20 years of experience as a television producer, director  and writer. She is best known for her two feature documentaries which were released across cinemas in the UK to a high critical acclaim- Jeremy Hardy vs The Israeli Army 2003 and Open Bethlehem 2014.

Before moving into independent films, Leila worked as a producer on Al Jazeera’s leading documentary series Encounter in Exile and made several award winning shorts Human Shield and Global Coverage.  She is often invited to speak on the Palestinian issue and  has published numerous articles on the subject.

JACOB NORRIS Lecturer in Middle East History, University of Sussex (UK)
Jacob Norris is Lecturer in Middle Eastern History at the University of Sussex. His latest research looks at the history of Bethlehem  with a  focus on the town’s intimate connections to global movements of people, goods and ideas.   Jacob is interested in the ways that academic historians can engage with public representations of history. He has worked closely with the British Museum in producing exhibitions and he frequently contributes articles to popular magazines and websites like History Today, BBC History Magazine, Oxford University Press and Open Democracy. He is currently writing a book about Bethlehem, The Global Story of a little Town.

JACQUELINE SHOEN Multimedia Producer, Planet Bethlehem (US)