Storytellers | Stories from Beyond: Stuck, with Usman Ally and Dana Omar

Join us for the kickoff event of the 2026 Storytellers Series: Stories from Beyond. Filmmaker Usman Ally returns to Kerry Hall for an intimate screening and discussion of his award-winning short film STUCK, starring Dana Omar.

 

At a time when our world feels increasingly divided and many of us grapple with the tension between action and inaction, STUCK offers a powerful exploration of identity, responsibility, and human connection. Following the screening, Usman Ally will participate in a panel discussion reflecting on the film’s themes, the role of storytelling in challenging perspectives, and what it means to engage with stories that reach beyond our own experiences.

 

Join us for an evening of film, conversation, and community as we launch a series dedicated to exploring stories from beyond our borders and discovering the common threads that connect us all.

 

 

STUCK is an urgent story for our time: What do you do when ancestral trauma demands you speak for your people, or risk erasure? My work centers on people from underrepresented communities facing pivotal choices. Dana must decide whether to stay silent or step into her voice—a choice that will reshape her life in this country. Shot in black and white in Chicago, the film draws a connective line between past and present, East and West. It’s a poetic, gut-wrenching, and ultimately hopeful story about moving through life clear-eyed in the face of judgment and prejudice.

 

Usman Ally’s previous short film, EMIGRE/AMERICANA was Jury Nominated For Best Short Film Over 15 Minutes at the Palm Springs International Shortfest, and has screened at 10 film festivals including four Oscar Qualifying Festivals. As a writer, his feature film script Mimi and Saad: An American Love Story scored highly on the Black List where it received critical praise. As an actor, Usman is well known for his work on several TV show such as VEEP and SUITS, and has been a veteran of the stage in New York and Chicago for over 15 years, winning numerous awards and recognition.

 

About the Co-Writer/Actor:

Dana Saleh Omar is a proud Palestinian-Jordanian first generation child. She is a musician, actor and creator from Chicago. Recently: The Antiquities (Goodman Theatre), Broadway National Tour: The Band’s Visit, Off-Broadway:  We Live in Cairo (Joe’s Pub). Regional: Once (Writers Theatre) Frankenstein: A Ghost Story (composer/musician, KC Rep.), We Live in Cairo (American Repertory Theatre), Pirates of Penzance  (Pasadena Playhouse), HMS Pinafore (Actor’s Theatre of Louisville), All Our Tragic (The Hypocrites), The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane (People’s Light),  One Hundred Dresses  (Chicago Children’s Theatre), TV:  Chicago PD. danasalehomar.com

 

Storytellers is a community conversation series that uses film, oral tradition, music, and dialogue to explore the experiences that shape our world. This year’s theme, Stories from Beyond, invites audiences to step outside familiar perspectives and engage with voices, cultures, and lived experiences from beyond our borders. We’ll explore the struggles of our Palestinian neighbors, the history of Southeast Asian migration in the Puget Sound, and the injustices of Japanese Internment in the US that shaped our region.  We hope to see you at Kerry Hall!