Antoine Fuqua Will Direct SIEGE OF BETHLEHEM about Three Men Who Prevented a Battle at Bethlehem’s Church of the Nativity

Antoine Fuqua (Training Day, The Equalizer) is set to direct Siege of Bethlehem for Bron Studios. The film will be based on the book A Season in Bethlehem: Unholy War in a Sacred Place, which was written by former Newsweek Jerusalem bureau chief Joshua Hammer.

The film will tell the remarkable true story of how a Muslim, an Israeli Jew, and a Christian American “came together to prevent a battle from breaking out between the Israeli army and a group of armed Palestinian militants who had taken refuge in Bethlehem’s Church of the Nativity, the believed birthplace of Jesus.  At the close of 39 days, despite the resistance put up by many of their superiors and colleagues, the three managed to reach a resolution, ending the siege and avoiding an all-out war on the church’s hallowed grounds.”

This is quite the inspiring story and one that I’m happy to see get adapted into a film. I’m sure that Fuqua will do a great job bringing the story to life. He will direct the film from a screenplay written by Avi Issacharoff (Fauda), the Palestinian and Arab Affairs Correspondent for Haaretz, and Matt Cook (Patriots Day, Triple 9), a military veteran who served two combat tours in Iraq. Michael Kase (6 Underground, 13 Hours, Transformers) is producing the film alongside Aaron L. Gilbert (Bombshell, Joker), who said in a statement:

“We are excited to partner with talented storytellers who have an unparalleled understanding of this extraordinary event and with action film icons who have the ability to bring it to life in the most powerful way.”

Kase added:

“I’ve been shepherding this project for 15 years. There couldn’t be a more appropriate time for a movie like this; it’s a story about uniting people through peace at a time of significant unrest.”

It is a wonderful and powerful story and it’s going to make for a fantastic film. Fuqua will start work on the movie after he is finished directing Will Smith in Apple Studios’ movie Emancipation, which is a runaway slave action thriller.

Source: Deadline

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