Oualid Mouaness

Liberian born, and raised between Beirut and Monrovia, Mouaness brings understanding and a diverse nuance to his work. He is a Sundance Fellow and currently splits his time between Los Angeles and Beirut. He completed his undergraduate studies in journalism and theatre in Beirut, and holds an MFA in film from the Florida State University college of Motion Picture Arts.

His first feature film as director, 1982, premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2019 where it won the NETPAC Award and went on to win the FIPRESCI International Critics Prize at El-Gouna Film Festival in Egypt. The film was selected to represent Lebanon for Best International Feature Film at the 92nd Academy Awards 2020. It has since received much critical acclaim and won multiple awards at film festivals including France, China, Qatar and the United States. His first short film, The Rifle, The Jackal, The Wolf and The Boy, was Oscar shortlisted in 2017.

Mouaness is known for producing seminal music videos with artists David Bowie (“The Stars & The Next Day”), a video-record and an Emmy Nominated live concert performance for Annie Lennox (“Nostalgia”). Other music video works include Lana Del Rey, Katy Perry, Justin Timberlake, Miley Cyrus, Taylor Swift, Jennifer Lopez, N.E.R.D, Janet Jackson, Britney Spears, Gnarls Barkley, Keith Urban, and Rihanna among others. He has been nominated for several VMA’s and CMA’s over the years.

He has produced nine feature length films (docs & features). Most notably, the indie film Kitchen Privileges (SXSW 2000) that he co-produced and edited and the acclaimed documentary RIZE (Sundance 2005) which was shortlisted for the Oscars in 2006. In 2015, Mouaness produced the South African LAIFF Audience-Award-Winning impactful documentary I Am Thalente directed by Natalie Johns and most recently the experiential documentary Max Richter’s Sleep that had its world premiere at IDFA 2019 and its North American premiere at Sundance 2020.