Rhode Island International Film Festival 2009

Live From Bethlehem chronicles the struggles, failures and triumphs of the Ma'an News Network, the only major independent news source in the Palestinian Territories. Following the lives of the station's reporters, producers and photographers, this documentary provides an in-depth, balanced look into the challenges of making news in one of the world's most combative regions. A highly observational film, Live From Bethlehem focuses more on people than politics while still engaging with questions of gender equality and freedom of expression in the evolving Palestinian mediascape.The film focuses on three main characters, all of whom represent a unique element of Palestinian journalism. The anchor of the film is Ma'an editor-in-chief, Nassar Laham, one of the most respected media figures in the region. Nassar provides the history and context necessary to understand Ma'an's difficult position and represent the foundation upon which the station's growing infrastructure is being built. Having spent years in Israeli prison, Laham is an expert in negotiating the political minefield that is journalism. But despite his difficult early life, Nassar is still committed to objectivity in his journalism and goes further than any other journalist in the region to present all sides of a story. His "Hebrew Press Tour" is a groundbreaking program during which Laham provides real time Arabic translations of the Israeli news to a West Bank Audience.Amira Hanania is the heart of Ma'an. A scant 26 years old, Hanania is a lead reporter at the station, a muck-raking radio journalist, a pioneering documentarian and the mother of two three year old twins. Live From Bethlehem follows her professional triumphs and personal travails, as she tries to work in the male-dominated world of Arab media while holding together her family. Her work focuses on women's rights in her country and the film follows her as she works to smash stereotypes and advocated for human rights.Fadi Tanas is the youngest journalist as Ma'an. A 23 year old photographer, Fadi is intrepid with his camera, fearless in the face of both Israeli soldiers and Palestinian militants. Having grown up in a the face of countless roadblocks, two intifadas and constant internal strife, Fadi uses his photography to escape the prison that politics have built around him.However, despite these brave journalists, Ma'an in not without critics. Funded largely by Western governments and NGOs, Ma'an must constantly fight to stay in business. Furthermore, its often controversial approach to covering the news has incurred furor from all directions: Hamas, Fatah, Israel and a variety of Western media watchdogs have called for the end of the station.Live From Bethlehem follows this controversy, approaching it primarily from the perspective of Ma'an's reporters. For these individuals, however, this debate is not a mere question of politics or ideology: their livelihoods hang in the balance.