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Osamah Sami Osamah Sami i(8368883 works by)
Born: Established: 1982 Abadan Island,
c
Iran,
c
Middle East, Asia,
;
Gender: Male
Heritage: Iranian ; Australian
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BiographyHistory

Writer, actor, and stand-up comedian.

Sami was born in Iran to Iraqi parents: his father had fled Saddam Hussein's regime, while his mother's family, who had Kurdish heritage, had been deported from Iraq in 1979, when Hussein came to power. Sami was born in 1983, and his father continued to serve in the Iran army (during the Iran-Iraq conflict) until the war ended in 1988. In 1995, the family moved to Melbourne.

Sami had begun acting in his hometown of Qom in Iran, and continued to act in Australia, where he became involved in community theatre, including the successful Trial of Saddam, written by Sami's father, Abu Osamah. In 2005, the play was taken to the United States, but the group was refused entry.

Since then, Sami has worked regularly in film and television and on stage, including films such as 10 Terrorists! and Journey, television shows such as East West 101 and City Homicide, and plays such as Tales of a City by the Sea.

In 2015, he published his memoir, Good Muslim Boy: it was shortlisted for both the New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards (Multicultural NSW Award) and the Victorian Premier's Literary Awards (non-fiction). In 2017, Sami's film, Ali's Wedding, co-written with Andrew Knight was released: it won both the AWGIE Award for original feature film and the AACTA Award for best original screenplay, and only lost the AACTA for best film to the film Lion, which had swept the 2017 awards.

Most Referenced Works

Awards for Works

form y separately published work icon Ali’s Wedding ( dir. Jeffrey Walker ) Australia : Matchbox Productions Pty Ltd , 2017 8368900 2017 single work film/TV

'After a reckless lie sets off a catastrophic chain of events, Ali, the son of a Muslim cleric, finds himself caught between his sense of duty to his family and following his heart. Based on real events, Ali’s Wedding is an irreverent, warm-hearted comedy, and an affectionate and vivid portrait of Islamic life in Australia. ' (Source: Screen Australia)

2017 winner Film Critics Circle of Australia Best Screenplay - Original or Adapted
2017 nominated Film Critics Circle of Australia Best Director
2017 nominated Film Critics Circle of Australia Best Film
2017 winner Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards Best Original Screenplay
2017 nominated Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards Best Film
2016 winner AWGIE Awards Feature Film - Original
y separately published work icon Good Muslim Boy Melbourne : Hardie Grant Books , 2015 8735194 2015 single work autobiography

'Good Muslim Boy is Osamah Sami's true depiction of his life as a young Muslim man. From his early life with his family in Iran during the Iran/​Iraq war, to their migration to Australia, his tale is in turns comic and tragic, and explores the universal truths of growing up, falling in love and marriage, family and following one's dream.' (Source: TROVE)

2016 shortlisted New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards Multicultural NSW
2016 shortlisted Victorian Premier's Literary Awards The Nettie Palmer Prize for Non-Fiction
Last amended 18 Dec 2017 16:10:28
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