The Honors College hosted film producer and director, Oualid Mouaness, for their Middle East Film Masterclass. Mouaness shared his experience in the film world and how he was able to produce his most famous short films and music videos including “1982” and “The Rifle, The Jackal, The Wolf, and The Boy.”
Mouaness’s most recent short film “1982,” about a boy in the Lebanon war, which he wrote and directed in 2019, became an award winning film, and received a 95% on Rotten Tomatoes.
“My work is dramatic, I grew up in two countries in war. ‘1982’ and ‘The Rifle, The Jackal, The Wolf, and The Boy’ were my first products of my real life stories. I am grateful that I get to share real life experiences and problems with the film world,” Mouaness said.
His first short film, which he wrote and directed in 2016, “The Rifle, The Jackal, The Wolf, and The Boy,” follows two little boys also growing up in modern day Lebanon and learning that violence is not always the answer. After killing a wolf that ate one of their chickens, the wolf’s pack kills the rest of the family’s chickens, a metaphor for war.
“This is a revenge narrative, telling you not to be rash, that violence only leads to more violence,” said Mouaness.
After breaking down the short film, Mouaness explained how it inspired him to continue his work as a director in “1982,” winning the Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema Award for World or International Asian Film Premiere and winning the 2021 Cannes Film Festival, Young Cinema sidebar.
“After having worked on ‘The Rifle, The Jackal, The Wolf and The Boy’ for many years, I decided to embark on ‘1982’ which was very hard for me to get this film made, because it has kids and material that have political undertones and themes of destruction from wars,” said Mouaness. “This short film was a stepping stone for directing even with my track record as a producer.”
“I’ve heard of his work before, particularly in music videos he’s produced, but it was amazing to watch such beautiful short films that brought to light the events of the Lebanon war,” Cheyenne Williams, a student who attended the event, said.
Before Mouaness was a director, he produced dozens of music videos in the 2000’s, including “Blue Jeans” by Lana Del Rey, “Mean” by Taylor Swift, “Like a Stone” by Audioslave, “Sledgehammer” by Rihanna and “The Stars” by David Bowie. His name and work became world renowned, and he was nominated for several VMA’s and CMA’s over the years.
