Oualid Mouaness was born in Liberia and grew up in Lebanon. He is a producer, screenwriter and director. He graduated in directing and screenwriting from Florida State University and made his directing debut with the short films Saint in the Sun (2002) and The Rifle, the Jackal, the Wolf, and the Boy (2016), the latter shortlisted for an Oscar in 2017. He produces documentaries, including Paris, Not France (about Paris Hilton), selected by the Toronto Film Festival in 2008, and music videos for David Bowie, Annie Lennox, Lana Del Rey and Justin Timberlake. 1982, his first feature film as a director, had its world premiere in Toronto in 2019.