Nice Bombs (2006)

Filmmaker Usama Alshaibi returns to Baghdad to reunite with his family after nearly 24 years. This documentary navigates his unique relationship to an Iraq that is very different from the country of his childhood. Usama captures the conflicting reactions to the conditions of life in Baghdad. Through a wide range of opinions and experiences he provides a broad panorama of voices long neglected under Saddam's regime. His cousin Tareef enters the room upon hearing an explosion. "It's a bomb. A Nice Bomb," he explains. The phrase is indicative of his family's nonchalance about their situation. As one young boy put it, "We're Iraqis. It's normal." With humor and resilience Nice Bombs explores Usama's dual role as both Iraqi and American. This Director's Cut of "Nice Bombs" was completed by director Usama Alshaibi 10 years after his trip to his home country. It contains more interviews with Iraqi women and a broader, more detailed view of life in Iraq.