Usama Alshaibi
Usama Alshaibi was born in Baghdad in 1969, but mostly grew up in the United States. Currently based in Chicago, he has made dozens of short films and two feature-length films. One feature film, Muhammad and Jane, is a fictional narrative. The other, Nice Bombs, is a documentary about Alshaibi’s return to Baghdad in 2003, two decades after he left it as a child.
Alshaibi’s short films are in the style of the Cinema of Transgression movement of the ’80s and typically feature scantily-clad women put in erotic situation. A selection of these films are compiled on the DVD Solar Anus Cinema. Alshaibi also collaborates frequently with his wife Kristie, a performance artist. In addition to making films, from 2000 to 2005, they ran the Z Film Festival in Chicago.
Partial Filmography:
Nice Bombs (2006)
Muhammad and Jane (2005)
The Amateurs (2003)
The Foreigner (2001)
Support Usama Alshaibi’s American Arab!
Kartemquin Films is throwing a benefit for Usama Alshaibi’s highly anticipated upcoming documentary, American Arab.
Fat Rabbit: Cinema Alshaibi
June 26: Married Chicago transgressive filmmakers Usama and Kristie Alshaibi will be screening a selection of their collaborative short films.
The New Transgression On DVD
Nick Zedd’s complete Adventures of Electra Elf is out as a special 4-disc box set; while Usama Alshaibi’s Solar Anus Cinema gets a new release.
Usama Alshaibi’s Profane: The Trailer
Usama Alshaibi has crafted a haunting trailer for his latest film, Profane, about a disturbed young Muslim sex worker who wants her Jinn back.
Four Iraq War Documentaries On DVD
If you enjoyed Kathryn Bigelow’s The Hurt Locker, you might also enjoy these other Iraq-based films, such as Nice Bombs by Usama Alshaibi.
A Rebours
A Rebours from Cinema Abattoir is a full-frontal assault of transgressive short films by Usama Alshaibi, Aryan Kaganof, Karl Lemieux and more.
On DVD: Usama Alshaibi’s Nice Bombs
Nice Bombs, an exceptional Iraq War documentary by Usama Alshaibi, is at long last available on DVD from Cinema Obscura.
Usama Alshaibi’s Nice Bombs: Free Screenings
Cinema Obscura will host two free screenings of Usama Alshaibi’s award-winning Nice Bombs on Oct. 16 to celebrate the film’s DVD release.
