Contact: Diane Morrow, 800-927-1517, dmorrow@tbbmedia.com

MEDIA ADVISORY, Feb. 28, 2011 /Christian Newswire/ -- Little Town of Bethlehem, from EthnoGraphic Media (EGM) has been awarded the 2011 Reel Rose Award for Best Documentary Film at the John Paul II International Film Festival. This distinguished film festival, held in south Florida, is modeled after the artistic and humanitarian ideas of the late pope and themed The Mystery of Love.

"We are humbled to receive this honor," states Little Town of Bethlehem film director Jim Hanon. "Just knowing that we were selected out of a multitude of submissions from around the world is very encouraging." Produced by Mart Green and directed by Jim Hanon, this full-length documentary shares the gripping story of three men -- a Palestinian Muslim, a Palestinian Christian, and an Israeli Jew -- each born into violence but willing to risk everything to bring an end to violence in their lifetime. Little Town of Bethlehem was filmed on location in the West Bank, Tel Aviv, and Jerusalem with a hope to bring awareness to a growing nonviolent movement in the Holy Land that rarely, if ever, makes international headlines. "This kind of recognition for a story that is about a crucial issue of our time is encouraging. As one of the films that brings a message of hope to a world conflict, we believe peaceful solutions may be found." comments EGM president Bill Oechsler.

This year's film festival took on an even greater significance in light of Pope Benedict's call for a peace summit to halt violence between religions. "Humanity," he entreated, "cannot be allowed to become accustomed to discrimination, injustices, and religious intolerance..." His Holiness, echoing the words and actions of his predecessors John Paul I and John Paul II, delivered his homily on the day the Church marked its World Day of Peace.

Sami Awad is a Palestinian Christian whose grandfather was killed in Jerusalem in 1948. Today he is the executive director of Holy Land Trust, a non-profit organization that promotes Palestinian independence through peaceful means. Yonatan Shapira is an Israeli Jew whose grandparents were Zionist settlers who witnessed the birth of the Israeli nation. Today he is an outspoken advocate for the nonviolent peace movement, both in his homeland and abroad. Ahmad Al' Azzeh is a Palestinian Muslim who has lived his entire life in the Azzeh refugee camp in Bethlehem. Today, Ahmad heads the nonviolence program at Holy Land Trust, where he trains others in the methods of peaceful activism.

Since it s launch in September 2010, Little Town of Bethlehem has been screened on more than 300 campuses, community centers and houses of worship around the world.

Watch the trailer at littletownofbethlehem.org.  

Little Town of Bethlehem was produced by EthnoGraphic Media (EGM), an educational non-profit organization exploring the critical issues of our time. Other feature films and documentaries from EGM include The Grandfathers (2009), Miss HIV (2008), and the award-winning End of the Spear (2005) and Beyond the Gates of Splendor (2002).