Mahamat-Saleh Haroun (French pronunciation: [ma.ama sale aʁun]; Arabic: محمد الصالح هارون) was born in 1961 in Abéché, Chad.

Set in the capital of Chad, N'Djamena, Abouna is the story of two young brothers (Amine and Tahir) who wake up one morning and realise that their father has left the family.

Here they hatch a plan to escape and find their father - that is until Tahir meets a mute girl at the school.

Hissein Djibrine produced the filmmaker's first two feature films, and Haroun was deeply touched by his death and wanted to honor his memory.

In 2006, Mahamat-Saleh Haroun directed Dry Season (Daratt),[5] the story of young Akim, who at the age of 16, left his village in Chad for the capital, N’Djamena, to avenge his father.

In 2011, he was a member of the jury for the main competition chaired by Robert De Niro at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival.

Set in Chad, the film tells the story of Grisgris, a young man who is disabled, dreams of becoming a dancer and gets involved in smuggling.

[10] This film is about Abbas, a French teacher in the Central African Republic who fled with his family during the civil war.

Unable to obtain refugee status, Abbas and his brother are given a notice of deportation and a hard choice to make.

In Haroun's 2020 film Lingui,[11] he returns to Chad, focusing on the problems faced by thirty-year-old Amina and her daughter Maria, who is half her age.

In December 2023, alongside 50 other filmmakers, Mahamat-Saleh Haroun signed an open letter published in Libération demanding a ceasefire and an end to the killing of civilians amid the 2023 Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip, and for a humanitarian corridor into Gaza to be established for humanitarian aid, and the release of hostages.