American Arab (film)

Last updated
American Arab
Directed by Usama Alshaibi
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

American Arab is a 2013 documentary film by Iraqi-American filmmaker Usama Alshaibi. The film follows the personal story of Alshaibi's life in post-9/11 United States and concentrates on sensitive issues pertaining to race and identity. The perceptions and misconceptions of the Arab American community are closely analyzed and deconstructed over the course of the film to reveal a more complex culture of individuals rather than a singularly stigmatized group of people. Alshaibi himself was the victim of a hate crime in 2011 so the film therein tackles the subject of racism and oppression towards Arab Americans in today's society. [1]

American Arab is a production of Kartemquin Films, and is part of their Diversity Fellowship program. [2]

Related Research Articles

Anti-Arab racism includes opposition to, dislike, fear, or hatred of Arab people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arab American National Museum</span> Museum in Dearborn, Michigan, United States

The Arab American National Museum is a museum in Dearborn, Michigan, highlighting the history, experiences, and contributions of Arab Americans. Established in 2005, it is the first, and largest, museum in the world devoted to Arab American history and culture. It is a division of the Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services (ACCESS), and a Smithsonian Affiliate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Usama Alshaibi</span> American film director

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

Steve James is an American film producer and director of several documentaries, including Hoop Dreams (1994), Stevie (2002), The Interrupters (2011), Life Itself (2014), and Abacus: Small Enough to Jail (2016).

Kartemquin Films is a four-time Oscar-nominated 501(c)3 non-profit production company located in Chicago, Illinois, that produces a wide range of documentary films. It is the documentary filmmaking home of acclaimed producers such as Gordon Quinn, Steve James, Peter Gilbert, Maria Finitzo, Joanna Rudnick, Bing Liu, Aaron Wickenden, and Ashley O’Shay (Unapologetic).

The cinema of Iraq went through a downturn under Saddam Hussein's regime. The development of film and film-going in Iraq reflects the drastic historical shifts that Iraq has experienced in the 20th century. The Iraq War which began in 2003 had an influence on many films being produced.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sama Alshaibi</span> Iraqi-born American artist

Sama Raena Alshaibi also known as Sama Alshaibi is a conceptual artist, who deals with spaces of conflict as her primary subject. War, exile, power and the quest for survival are themes seen in her works. She often uses her own body in her artwork as a representation of the country or an issue she is dealing with.

<i>Home for Life</i> Film

Home for Life, the founding documentary of Kartemquin Films released in 1967, depicts the experiences of two elderly people in their first month at a home for the aged. One is a woman whose struggle to remain useful in her son and daughter-in-law's home is no longer appreciated. The other is a widower, without a family, who suddenly realizes he can no longer take care of himself. The film offers an unblinking look at the feelings of the two new residents in their encounters with other residents, medical staff, social workers, psychiatrists and family.

The article describes the state of race relations and racism in the Middle East. Racism is widely condemned throughout the world, with 174 states parties to the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination by April 8, 2011. In different countries, the forms that racism takes may be different for historic, cultural, religious, economic or demographic reasons.

<i>Inquiring Nuns</i> 1968 film

Inquiring Nuns is a 1968 Kartemquin Films production directed by Gordon Quinn and Gerald Temaner. The documentary film features Sisters Marie Arne and Mary Campion, two young Catholic nuns who visit a variety of Chicago locales to ask people the question, "Are you happy?" They meet a variety of individuals ranging from hippie musicians to intellectuals, whose responses are everything from the mundane to the spiritual. The film was directly influenced by Jean Rouch's Chronique d'un été, which Quinn and Temaner had watched at Doc Films while they were undergraduates at the University of Chicago. The film was shot on Kartemquin's “Camera #1”, a custom-modified crystal sync Auricon with a used manual zoom lens Quinn purchased from Albert Maysles, and to which he added a World War II gunner handle bought from a pawn shop as an extra grip for steadiness.

Racism in Israel encompasses all forms and manifestations of racism experienced in Israel, irrespective of the colour or creed of the perpetrator and victim, or their citizenship, residency, or visitor status. More specifically in the Israeli context, racism in Israel refers to racism directed against Israeli Arabs by Israeli Jews, intra-Jewish racism between the various Jewish ethnic divisions, historic and current racism towards Mizrahi Jews although some believe the dynamics have reversed, and racism on the part of Israeli Arabs against Israeli Jews.

<i>Golub</i> (film) American film

Golub is a 1988 documentary film, produced by Kartemquin Films, that examines the life and work of controversial painter, Leon Golub. Inspired by war, political oppression and the fight for Free Speech, Golub and his paintings are famous for their depictions of extreme violence. Also featured prominently in the film is his wife, anti-war feminist and artist, Nancy Spero. The documentary tracks Golub from starting with a blank canvas to a touring North American exhibition and eventually to an exhibition in Northern Ireland.

<i>Life Itself</i> (2014 film) 2014 American film

Life Itself is a 2014 American biographical documentary film about Chicago film critic Roger Ebert, directed by Steve James and produced by Zak Piper, James and Garrett Basch. The film is based on Ebert's 2011 memoir of the same name. It premiered at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival and was an official selection at the 67th Cannes Film Festival. The 41st Telluride Film Festival hosted a special screening of the film on August 28, 2014. Magnolia Pictures released the film theatrically in the United States and simultaneously via video on demand platforms on July 4, 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Judy Hoffman</span> American filmmaker and arts activist

Judy Hoffman is an American filmmaker and arts activist based in Chicago. She graduated from Northwestern University with a MFA and currently holds a faculty position at the University of Chicago. Hoffman has played a major role in the development of Kartemquin Films, a documentary filmmaking company founded in Chicago in 1966. Hoffman has worked with extensively with Kwakwaka’wakw, a First Nation in British Columbia, to produce films. Hoffman has brought activism to her films, and continues to show different facets of the city of Chicago.

<i>Almost There</i> (film) 2014 American film

Almost There is a 2014 independent documentary film, produced by Kartemquin Films. It was directed by Aaron Wickenden and Dan Rybicky.

<i>As Goes Janesville</i> 2012 American film

As Goes Janesville is a 2012 independent documentary film, produced by Kartemquin Films and 371 Productions. It explores the future of the American middle class by focusing on the stories of Janesville, WI.

The School Project is an independent cross-platform media project. It explores what a healthy public education system looks like through the lens of Chicago Public Schools. It focuses on issues including standardized testing, charter schools, privatization, and school closings. It is a collaboration between Kartemquin Films, Siskel/Jacobs Productions, Free Spirit Media, Kindling Group, Media Process Group, and several freelancers. Its media partners include Catalyst Chicago, Chicago Sun-Times, and WTTW/Channel 11.

Unbroken Glass is a 2016 independent documentary film, directed by Dinesh Das Sabu and produced by Kartemquin Films. Unbroken Glass weaves together Das Sabu's journey of discovery with cinéma vérité scenes of his family dealing with still raw emotions and consequences of his immigrant parents’ lives and deaths. The film was shot over five years in Illinois, New Mexico, California, and India.

Peter Kuttner is a Chicago filmmaker, activist, and cameraman. He is known for his early socially-conscious documentary films that touch on topics such as opposition to United States involvement in the Vietnam War, gentrification of Chicago, racism, and social class. He produced many of these with the film collective Kartemquin Films, of which he was an original member. He is best known for his work on the film The End of the Nightstick (1993) with Cindi Moran and Eric Scholl, which documented police brutality in Chicago and torture allegations against commander Jon Burge. Kuttner has worked extensively in activism and community service, and was a founding member of activist group Rising Up Angry. Kuttner has worked with many collaborators including Kartemquin Collective founder Gordon Quinn, and filmmakers Haskell Wexler and Robert Kramer. He is also known for camera work on a number of major motion pictures including Man of Steel and Source Code.

<i>Raising Bertie</i> 2016 American film

Raising Bertie is a 2016 American documentary film directed by Margaret Byrne and produced by Ian Robertson Kibbe, Margaret Byrne, and Jon Stuyvesant. It was distributed by Kartemquin Films and aired in shortened form on the 30th season of PBS's documentary series POV on August 28, 2017.

References

  1. ""American Arab": Racism in the Post-9/11 Age". blogs.indiewire.com. Retrieved 26 June 2013.[ title missing ]
  2. "American Arab. Kartemquin Films. Retrieved 26 June 2013.