Usama Alshaibi


Usama Alshaibi is an Iraqi-American independent filmmaker and visual artist.

Life and career

Starting in early 2004, Alshaibi worked on a documentary on his homeland, and its current situation, titled Nice Bombs. The documentary is Alshaibi's first official release and was produced by Kristie Alshaibi, and executive produced by Studs Terkel. The documentary was funded in part by Creative Capital and the Playboy Foundation. It premiered at the 2006 Chicago Underground Film Festival where it won the Best Documentary Feature award and had Studs Terkel and Christie Hefner introduce the screening. Nice Bombs had a theatrical release in 2007, a broadcast premiere on the Sundance Channel in March 2008 and was released on DVD on October 2009.
Usama Alshaibi is interviewed in fellow Chicagoan Studs Terkel's book Hope Dies Last.
Alshaibi is the director of two narrative feature-length films, Profane and Muhammad and Jane, and more than fifty short films. He has also produced and directed numerous music videos for a variety of musicians, including Mahjongg, Panicsville and Bobby Conn. Alshaibi was the founder and Director of the Z Film Festival and his short films have toured with author Jack Sargeant's underground film programs. Several of his short films, including The Amateurs, are available on the DVD Solar Anus Cinema.

Filmography

Feature films