Biography:Usama Alshaibi is a director, writer and producer. He has spent his formative years living between the United States and the Middle East. His films have received grants from the Creative Capital Foundation, the Playboy Foundation, the MacArthur Foundation, and others. His work in both narrative and documentary film has screened all over the world. His documentary films have premiered on the Sundance Channel and PBS. Feature articles have been written about his work in such places as the Chicago Tribune, Time Out, Punk Planet and Variety. His latest documentary, American Arab, had a world premiere at the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam and has secured domestic and international distribution. Usama Alshaibi has directed 16 feature and short films. He and his creative partner Kristie Alshaibi run and operate Artvamp, which produces the majority of their films.