Being Osama

"My name was stolen from me," laments a Canadian Arab man named Osama. Since 9/11, Arabs living in Canada have braced for the inevitable backlash, including increased airport security checks, deportation orders, and general harassment. Filmmakers Mahmoud Kaabour and Tim Schwab's Being Osama interviews six men linked by the common Arab name of Osama, who relate how this unwelcome attention has changed their lives. The video follows these men in daily life, making music, playing pickup basketball, attending weddings and funerals, or mingling with friends in a neighborhood cafe. The question of whether they should use another name altogether, such as "Sam," or simply stand by their heritage becomes a metaphor for the difficulty of surviving and holding onto Muslim identity in a foreign land (like the American internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II, the film argues that the events of 9/11 have given some Canadians an "opportunity to hate"). Unfortunately, after a solid start the film's focus wobbles all over the place and, except for a few Arab demonstrations against discrimination, we are never shown much evidence of the problems these men face. While this might find an audience in Canada, most U.S. libraries can afford to pass this one up. Aud: C, P. (S. Rees)