SCREENWRITER, JOURNALIST, SPEECHWRITER, AUTHOR
MICHAEL SOUSSAN
Michael Soussan currently works full time as an LA-based screenwriter and producer (on projects that have garnered coverage from VARIETY, the LA Times, Vanity Fair), among others.
A public speaker, screenwriter, book author and journalist in TV print and digital media, Soussan has worked as professional communicator across a range of platforms in settings ranging from Capitol Hill and ‘K Street’ in Washington DC, to the United Nations and CNN in New York. He has also taken assignments in Iraq, Afghanistan and the Congo, as a reporter, contributing to The International Herald Tribune, and offering intelligence reports for specialized consultancies.
A strategic media advisor, Soussan has contributed articles and interviews to The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, CNN,TimeMagazine Ideas, NPR, the BBC, Salon.com, Google Talks, AOL Build, MSNBC and a range of international media, including special coverage of women's rights in conflict zones for the Huffington Post.
In his early career he worked at the CNN News Desk, then as a Program Coordinator for the United Nations.
A native of Denmark, he grew up in Paris, the son of two foreign correspondents, then studied international affairs at Brown University (where he founded The Brown Journal of World Affairs) . He earned his Masters from Sciences-Po (Paris) and studied filmmaking at NYU .
He also taught a popular and well-reviewed writing class at New York University's Center for Global Affairs.
In 2004, he helped uncover the “largest and most corrupt humanitarian operation in UN history” (As described by PBS’s Margaret Warner). He wrote a book about the experience, ironically titled “Backstabbing for Beginners: My Crash Course In International Diplomacy.” (Hachette, 3rd Edition)
The book became a Wall Street Journal “Book of the Year,” and was picked as "Book of the Week" by CNN's Fareed Zakaria, who called it "a great book and a fun read" and The Guardian's Stephen Pool. The Sunday Times wrote of Michael's work:
“Soussan landed the job of his dreams, working for the United Nations on the biggest aid programme it had ever attempted. However, anyone familiar with the tales of Soussan's fellow countryman Hans Christian Andersen will expect dark truths to emerge from the most apparently innocent exteriors.
– The Sunday Times
The book was adapted to feature film by author Daniel Pyne (who also adapted Tom Clancy’s "The Sum of All Fears", "The Manchurian Candidate", and "Any Given Sunday"). The film, reviewed here by VARIETY MAGAZINE was directed by “Scandi-Noir” Auteur filmmaker Per Fly, starred Sir Ben Kingsley and Theo James (Insurgent, Divergent). It is distributed globally by Universal and in the US by A24 in theatres and Direct TV, and is now available on Amazon and iTunes. Click here for the trailer.
Public Speaker: Michael Soussan has been invited to speak about critical trends in global corruption, information warfare, and strategic media planning by various corporations. He has advised NGOs like Doctors of the World, Transparency International, The Jewish Museum, Fenton PR, Ogilvy PR executives, and produced media content for corporate and non-profit organizations.
Soussan has testified before the House International Relations Committee of the US Congress, and been invited to speak to The Harvard Club of New York, The London School Economics, Johns Hopkins University, the United States Central Command (USCENTCOM), and has appeared live on CNN, the BBC, SKY NEWS, Google Talks, MSNBC's Morning Joe, the AOL build speaking series anda range of NPR stations.
He currently draws on the range of his industry relationships, and his communication experiences across the political and entertainment spectrum to build narrative projects for film and TV/Streaming platforms, collaborating with a range of production companies in Europe and the United States to bring meaningful and entertaining stories to life on the screen.
Please feel free to be in contact through the portal below I will respond to all mail.
