Khaled Mouzanar is a Lebanese music composer, songwriter, writer and film producer. He has composed music scores for several films, including After Shave,Caramel, Where Do We Go Now? and Capernaum . In 2008, he recorded Les Champs Arides, his first solo album as a singer and songwriter. His work is rooted in various genres, including classical, contemporary and folk music. His compositions are also influenced by Brazilian choro, Argentinian tango and oriental melodies.
Career
Mouzanar studied under Boghos Gelalian – an Armenian-Lebanese composer. In the year 2000, he established – in collaboration with Zeid Hamdan – his first label ‘Mooz Records’ through which he produced the majority of Beirut's underground music scene. Groups such as Soap Kills and The New Government were among these productions. One of his first professional experiences in cinema took place in 2005 with After Shave – a short film directed by Hany Tamba. The film won in France the Cesar Award for Best Short Film in 2006. In 2007, and while signing with the French independent record companyNaïve Records, Mouzanar composed the score for Caramel – a feature film directed by Nadine Labaki whom he later married. That same year, Mouzanar recorded his first solo album entitled Les Champs Arides. The album was co-produced with the English producer Ian Caple. It includes a duet with French singer :fr:Barbara Carlotti|Barbara Carlotti. In 2008, he won the UCMF Award for Best Music for the soundtrack of Caramel at the Cannes Film Festival. In 2009, he composed the music for the opening ceremony of the 2009 Jeux de la Francophonie, which was viewed by 60 million spectators all over the world. French choreographer :fr:Daniel Charpentier|Daniel Charpentier directed the show. In 2010, while writing for different artists such as Natacha Atlas, Mouzanar composed the music score for the film Where Do We Go Now? directed by Nadine Labaki, for which he won the award for Best Music at the 2011 Stockholm International Film Festival. In 2014 he scored the soundtrack of the film Rio, I Love You and co-wrote the segment directed by Nadine Labaki. In 2017 he produced, co-wrote the scenario and composed the music of Nadine Labaki’s feature film Capernaum. The film won the Jury Prize in Cannes Films Festival 2018 and got nominated at the British Academy Film Awards, The Cesar Award, The Golden Globes and the Academy Awards for Best Foreign Film. In 2019 Mouzanar won for the Soundtrack of Capernaum a Crystal Pine Award for Best Original Score at the International Sound & Film Music Festival and was nominated for the Public Choice Award at the World Soundtrack Awards. Mouzanar is also an activist working on the preservation of Lebanon’s heritage by preventing the demolition of traditional houses and preserving green spaces. He is also the co-founder of the Capernaum Foundation which takes care of children with no access to education.
