A BENEFIT FOR AMERICAN ARAB
A documentary in progress

Thursday, August 5th, 6-9pm
The Stan Mansion
2408 North Kedzie, Chicago, Illinois 60647

Enjoy an evening of Music by Black Bear Combo, Middle Eastern Food,
Cash Bar*, Raffle, Belly Dancing, Henna Tattoos, and the World Premiere
of clips from the upcoming film American Arab.

Proceeds will support production of the film.
(Click here for information)

A History of Flying Vaginas

A limited edition of 200 were printed. There are just 20 copies left for purchase. Printed on Acid Free Paper using the antiquated Stencilprint process, each copy is signed by the artists.

Available for $20 each.

To order contact Kristie: kristie@artvamp.com

Usama Alshaibi’s known for stirring up serious political shit with a pervo swizzle stick; his last completed feature, Nice Bombs, in which he revisits his motherland Iraq and ends up just like the rest of the U.S.—having no conclusion, no idea really what to make of the enormous mess—pissed off a lot of people. When we stumbled on this strange, magical video that feels like some kind of haunted video feedback loop, which he made with his wife Kristie (click below to watch it), we thought we’d found something that was just pretty great to look at, a miniature respite from his workaday leanings. But when we asked him to talk about it, that was a jack-in-the-box of worms that led to a discussion about his recent film, Profane. Seems he just can’t get away from the deep, dark stuff. [read the rest]

Usama Alshaibi’s Award-Winning Doc “Nice Bombs” Coming to DVD with Free Screening OCTOBER 16 at Portage Theater, 4050 North Milwuakee Ave, Chicago

Showtimes are at 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. Seating is on a first-come, first-served

To celebrate the release of “Nice Bombs” on DVD, filmmaker Usama Alshaibi and distributor Cinema Obscura are presenting two free screenings of the film at the historic Portage Theater on Friday, October 16, 2009.

In “Nice Bombs,” Alshaibi returns to Baghdad to reunite with his family after nearly 24 years. This documentary navigates through his unique relationship to an Iraq that is much different than the country of his childhood. Through a wide range of opinions and experiences he provides a broad panorama of voices long neglected under Saddam’s regime. With humor and resilience, “Nice Bombs” explores Usama’s dual role as both Iraqi and American.

Michael Philips, film critic at “The Chicago Tribune” and co-host of “At the Movies,” says “Nice Bombs” is “..a surprisingly warm first-person video diary….the footage has been edited with grace and tact.”

Aside from winning Best Documentary at the Chicago Underground Film Festival, “Nice Bombs” aired on the Sundance Channel and was produced by Benzfilm Inc. and Kristie Alshaibi.

The DVD of “Nice Bombs” will be available in stores and on-line October, 27, 2009. Pre-orders are currently accepted now at amazon.com and at cinemaobscuradvd.com.

Usama Alshaibi was born in Baghdad, Iraq in 1969 and spent his formative years living between the United States and the Middle East. His work in film and video has been screened at numerous film festivals and venues across the globe. He is the recipient of a generous 2005 grant from the Creative Capital Foundation for the Arts and a Playboy Foundation Award, as well as the winner of the Creative Promise Award at Tribeca All Access in New York City.

Friday, 20th of March, 2009 at Extrapool in Nijmegen, Netherlands: New Solar Anus Cinema and a few surprises. Click for details: www.extrapool.nl

Tuesday, 24th of March at Ruinte-x in Tilburg, Netherlands: Iraqi shorts and a sneak preview of Usama’s new project. Click for details: www.ruimte-x.nl/

We will visiting Amsterdam as well, so if you’d like to have us screen our movies, just send us an email: artvamp@artvamp.com

DVD Includes: Traumata, Organ Molly, Self-​Contained,​ Slaughtered Pigtails, Convulsion Expulsion, Runaway, Gash, Patient, Spoiled & The Amateurs (81 Minutes.)

“…his films frequently examine themes of sexuality, desire,
‘perversion’, race, and gender. His work is characterized by
a combination of dark humour and a gleeful celebration of what
deemed by mainstream culture to be deviant behavior…”
-Jack Sargeant (from Deathtripping the Extreme Underground)

Sunday November 23 at 5PM

Monday November 24 at 1:30PM

Sundance Channel