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Ousama Rawi

Cinematographer Ousama Rawi was born in Iraq but grew up in Scotland. While in his early 20s, he worked at a London production facility and got the chance to man the camera on a commercial short film. The resulting movie earned a second place finish at the Festival de Cannes short film competition. After working as a news cameraman and filming commercials for a couple of years, he desired a move into feature film work, though his relative inexperience proved a hindrance. A major job did come his way--Mike Hodges's next feature after the explosive "Get Carter"--the 1972 film, "Pulp," starring Michael Caine. More major film work followed, including the kitchen-sink coming-of-age drama "Existence" directed by actor David Hemmings, the hard-hitting Don Siegel thriller "The Black Windmill" also starring Caine, and the historical war film "Zulu Dawn" (a prequel to the classic "Zulu"). In 1986, he made his directorial debut, the psychological thriller "A Judgment in Stone," based on the acclaimed Ruth Rendell novel. Some of notable later work has been for cable television, including the movies "Pirates of Silicon Valley" (about the battle between Apple and Microsoft in the formative days of the home computer), "Ruby's Bucket of Blood" (an interracial love story set in a Louisiana juke joint in the 1960s), and the sumptuous, torrid Showtime historical series "The Tudors." Rawi won several awards for his cinematography, including an Emmy and a Gemini award.