‘Usama’s Alshaibi’s experimental short film Baba Boom Boom (2016) takes us to the heart of the city, where we listen to folkloric music from Iraq performed by Alshaibi’s characterful father and meditate on the rich oral traditions within Iraqi culture’
Coming soon! Go to https://iiffestival.com/
Usama Alshaibi’s AMERICAN ARAB (US/Documentary)
About halfway through AMERICAN ARAB, Marwan Kamel, a local Chicago musician of Syrian and Polish descent, sums up the knotty problem of carving out an identity in a country not fond of ambiguity, and offers this solution: “Give people the space to be complicated.” It’s something of a thesis for director Usama Alshaibi’s complex and extremely personal documentary. The core of the movie traces Alshaibi’s life through family photos and home movies as he bounces from Iraq to Iowa to Chicago, occasionally doubling back. In AMERICAN ARAB he examines how this sense of impermanence, coupled with ongoing issues of Islamophobia in pre- and post-9/11 America, can wreak havoc on one’s sense of self. Alshaibi wonders, “Why are Americans so clueless about Arabs?” before unleashing a cavalcade of archival idiocies from the campaign trail, cable news, and mindless Hollywood fare—thanks to Robert Zemeckis you can’t yell “Libyans!” in a crowded room without a bunch of thirty-somethings hitting the deck. Later, he (or some other brave soul) tests the water at a 2002 “flag rally” to predictable results, although one rarely gets measured commentary from someone literally waving a flag. All this amounts to a nasty reminder that Islamophobia is an especially insidious strain of bigotry; it often masquerades as patriotism or harmless yucks, but takes a toll on those attempting to straddle a precarious national divide. The latter part of AMERICAN ARAB delves into more personal territory: Alshaibi experiences firsthand matters only previously discussed, and we meet his wife Kristie as they start a family—the couple bonded over a love of experimental film, WINDOW WATER BABY MOVING enthusiasts take heart. With Alshaibi at its center, AMERICAN ARAB never becomes overly didactic and ultimately succeeds because the filmmaker himself is eminently likable and self-aware. While struggling to find a place where he belongs he openly acknowledges, “We tend to romanticize the places we aren’t at.” By allowing himself and his subjects space to be complicated, Alshaibi manages to thoughtfully examine this hard to define American identity. (2013, 60 min) JS
(source: https://www.cinefile.info/)
Today is my Q and A for the Best of Chicago Underground Film Festival for my documentary American Arab. Join me at 7pm Chicago time. Click here.
The Chicago Underground Film Festival has been playing my films since 1998! Holy shit. If it wasn’t for Bryan and CUFF I would not be who I am today. They asked me if I had any fun stories about CUFF… and I have so many. Some are epic and shall not be repeated and others I can barely remember, lol. But it was my friendships and connections with all the wonderful folks at CUFF, and the filmmakers that I feel a kinship with– it was an extension of everything that I loved about Chicago and this more fringe set of filmmakers. They were like me.
I was looking forward to a road trip this summer with Talia to visit again and play our latest work. But we have the coronavirus now and everything has been cancelled… but CUFF hangs on and they are playing the Best of CUFF virtually. This is an opportunity to see my documentary American Arab and other phenomenal films!
This is not expensive and pay what you can if you can’t afford the festival pass. From CUFF: We’ve set complete festival passes at just $30 with a suggested individual program ticket at $10 but individual programs are “pay what you can.”
So check out my film and other films by some of the most innovative and wild filmmakers today. Remember that corporate media controls over 90% of everything you watch and it is a gift when venues like CUFF show work on the margins of culture.
As long as I make films I hope to always play at the Chicago Underground Film Festival. It is in my blood and in my spirit.
https://watch.eventive.org/cu…/play/5efccf476ff4e0003e8aea9b
The Desire will be having a virtual world premiere at the Revelation Perth International Film Festival COUCHED program which will run online from July 9-19.
COUCHED offers tailored viewing experiences to 30+ of the finest features and documentaries from across the world. In addition, it will feature live panels, talks, presentations and short films. In fact, as close to a full festival experience as possible.
Films will be available for rent for a 24 hour period through the fest. Tickets and passes are on sale now. https://revcouched.eventive.org/films/5ef80077e44f0f004c5fb7e6
Audio stories and reflections on the COVID-19 pandemic from March 14th to April 26th, 2020.
Voices from Usama Alshaibi, Talia Watrous and Muneera Alshaibi. Additional media clips include Doctor Facui, Doctor Suraj Saggar and Donald Trump with reporters.
Like everyone else, Colorado filmmaker Usama Alshaibi’s life has been changed by the coronavirus pandemic.
As a teacher at Colorado State University, he found himself putting his classes online. And as a filmmaker whose work straddles transgressive cinema and documentary, often exploring Arab-American identity and his own experiences as an Iraqi refugee turned United States citizen, Alshaibi made a short, meditative landscape video about the strange historical moment we’re living through. It lasts just shy of a minute.
We caught up with Alshaibi to find out how he’s navigating the pandemic, to learn how it has affected his creative practice, and to discover more about his short film “Here.”
Westword: How are you handling the COVID-19 shutdowns?
Usama Alshaibi: I’m doing okay. I teach at Colorado State University, and we just migrated all our classes online. I’m also making sure the students are dealing with all this okay. I check in on their mental health. This is scary stuff.
My daughter, who is in second grade, is home, and so we are staying semi-active and making art and trying to stay creative. My partner keeps asking me to do yoga with her…I’m getting there. Things feel strange but also normal. I lived as a child during war, and so I feel weirdly prepared.
How does this affect your work?
It’s difficult to focus on older projects, and I tend to respond quickly to the current world around me. So I started recording audio daily about the pandemic for a potential podcast and started thinking of ways of expressing what I’m going through and what the people around me are going through. I wanted to make something immediately and not overthink it or overdo it. So I made this short video called “Here.”
Talk about “Here.” What is it about? What prompted it?
The video happened very quickly. I edited it in about a day. The footage came from a short film I shot years ago that was about a difficult period in my life, and I was spending a lot of time by myself and in my car — but that film never happened. It was too depressing.
But the footage had this isolated feeling to it that was pulling me back in. There is also this large mound in north Boulder that I often return to, and it shows up in many of my recent films. The mound has become this magical place that I project onto. So that mound comes in at the end of the film — but it is blue and the colors are off and you hear my voice whispering. The audio I recorded as I edited the video. It is a kind of evidence of what is happening.
The motion of the car with the rain and the birds chirping is at once calming but also slightly off. The birds are actually chirping backwards and the audio is not connected to what we are seeing. What is it about? It is about feeling a contradiction of feelings. It is about this tension in the air and the danger all around, but not seeing it yet. It is the horror underneath everything. It is about making our mark and saying we are still here but freaked out a bit.
What is inspiring you and keeping you active during this time? What are your worries?
I’m grading, reading, writing, painting, working on my script and trying not to watch too much news. I also love horror movies, and they have a calming effect on me. I meditate daily. I try and maintain some level of a daily schedule. Our neighborhood is great. People here are all caring and helping one another. My worry is that we learn nothing from this. If we can all stop being so angry and divided after this pandemic, that would be a good thing. We need one another to survive.
I worry about others that are struggling financially. I worry about everyone. My friend from Chicago and executive producer of my film American Arab, the famed documentary filmmaker Gordon Quinn, has been diagnosed with COVID-19, and I’m very worried about him. But my main worry is that things are going to get worse, and we are not totally prepared as a nation.
How are you supporting community, and what sort of support do you want to see from community?
I teach a film class, and I’m encouraging my students to explore the moment they are in. And I think art and creative expressions during this pandemic can help us and heal us.
We are lucky in many ways to have devices and the Internet to keep connected and also create. This is a good time to make work instead of consuming work. This is also a time to recognize that we are all connected and we need to work together.
As I reflect back I realize I don’t fully understand this life and reality. But I’m trying to let go of worry, let go of bitterness, let go of negative patterns, and to embrace wonder, kindness, laughter and compassion. I think there is something profound and also absurd about being human. I’m content with this beauty and chaos swirling in me. I used to think I needed so much, and I realize that I don’t need much, and I love being alone. But I am spending more time with my daughter—trying to spend more time in the forests and mountains, and more time listening to the whispers from the night and moon. I’m inspired. I also have someone in my life, a partner that I keep close to my heart and her love is everything. I feel revived through her.
It really is up to us to help one another on this planet. Take care my friends and keep creating and connecting and stay hopeful as we enter this new year together.
My two short films, The Flowering and Dream of Samarra, are both playing Friday, November 8 at 10pm at the Spectacle Theatre in Brooklyn, New York. This is part of a program curated by Chris Bell, titled HIDDEN VISIONS: Snapshots of Contemporary Independent Cinema.
More info here.
