Born in 1957, Emmanuel Courcol began his career on stage under the direction of Roger Planchon and Jean-Louis Thamin. He wrote several screenplays, in collaboration with Philippe Lioret, for Mademoiselle (2001), The Light (2004), and Welcome (2009), which garnered a César nomination for Best Screenplay and won Best Screenplay at the 47th Gijón International Film Festival. His directorial debut with the feature Ceasefire (2016) earned him a nomination for a Variety Piazza Grande Award at the 69th Locarno International Film Festival.