One day while watching TV in his village near Tangiers, Mohamed Ulad-Mohand came across Derzou Ouzala and l’Argent de Poche. “Those two films bowled me over,” says Mohamed, who immediately understood his vocation in life. This inspired him to set up a cinema club, where he showed propaganda films from the Eastern bloc, because, he explains, “the cultural centres of those countries were the only ones to offer me copies!” After passing his baccalaureate, Mohamed took the train to Paris. After working as an assistant editor and putting together several short films, he decided to produce a documentary in 1990 about the life of one of his favourite writers, Paul Bowles, called Un Américain à Tanger.  Mohamed Ulad-Mohand subsequently set up a company specializing in short films. “My work isn’t limited to managing a budget; I also help to write scripts and edit films.” Thanks to the Jean-Luc Lagardère Foundation, Mohamed was able to launch himself into the world of feature-length films. In particular, the project to produce Parlez-Moi d’Amour by Philippe Alard caught the interest of the jury. As a result, Mohamed was able to consolidate a production system that had already been in place for two years, based on his belief in the strength of the producer-director relationship and his enthusiasm for stories and ideas.

Achievements since winning the grant
In 1994, Mohamed Ulad-Mohand set up his own company, Astoria, and produced L’Enfance Egarée by Christophe Rugia; Couleurs d’Enfants by Bourlem Guerdjou; and Quand le Soleil Fait Tomber les Moineaux by Hassan Legzouli.
In 1998, he made Le Café de la Plage, based on a short story by Mohamet Mrabet and Paul Bowles; the film was selected for numerous festivals.
1999 saw the release of Le Harem de Madame Osmane, made and produced by Nadir Moknèche. The film won the 1998 Best Script prize in France.
In 2000, Mohamed made another short film, A Travers le Miroir.
In 2001, he produced Un Lutteur dans le Désert, a documentary by François Sculier.