Moustafa El Mesaoudi studied Oriental Studies and Economics in Bochum, Germany. An independent cinema exhibitor since 2003, he owns and operates five venues with 20 screens in Cologne, Wuppertal and Montabaur. Alongside this, he founded the film distribution arm immergutefilme, which he continues to head and whose programming focuses on the MENA region and on themes of exile. Its releases include the Academy Award winner No Other Land, Happy Holidays, Once Upon a Time in Gaza, YUNAN and Everybody Loves Touda. Since 2025 he has also served on the Board of Directors of Europa Cinemas, the European network for arthouse cinemas. On March 26, he hosted a filmtour with UN-Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese and Director Christophe Cotteret, visiting three German cities to screen the film "Disunited Nations", followed by a Q&A session.