BIO

Ousama (Ossi) Rawi

My passion for photography started at a very early age.  I was completely fascinated with the art of photography and by my early teens my passion had evolved to cinematography.

My introduction to the film business was as an apprentice at a Commercials production company in London, where a great deal of my time was spent making tea. In between the “tea breaks” I had many an opportunity to observe and absorb the workings of a film set and more importantly, observe many notable DP’s whose work I admired perform their magic.

My professional career began in the UK at Border Television in Carlisle, first as a newsreel cameraman and later shooting documentaries. I left Carlisle and went to London. After securing some work shooting shorts, I managed to segue into filming commercials. My transition to long form feature films was a result of occasionally working with Features Directors who were also directing commercials.

A job shooting a feature film in Canada resulted in my getting involved as a partner with some local producers in a newly established Commercials production company in Toronto and relocating from London.  Over the course of several years I shot commercials in Canada, the United States and Europe receiving numerous awards.

After braving many cold winters in Toronto, I relocated to Los Angeles where I now reside but still keep my connections with Canada and the UK.  I am fluent in Arabic (3 dialects) and Turkish. 

My work includes projects for: Showtime, NBC, ABC, Fox, Lifetime, TNT, Canal Plus, National Geographic Channel, Columbia Tri-Star, as well as a number of independent film productions.

Guild memberships:   

IATSE Local 600     IATSE Local 667     DGA

I have been honoured with an EMMY Award, CSC Awards, ASC nominations, as well as Gemini Awards. A full list of awards and nominations is available HERE