Youssef is a young Moroccan filmmaker and researcher, a graduate of Amherst College in Massachusetts. Youssef is interested in youth cultures in the Arab world, the North African diaspora around the world, Arabic vernacular literature and the writings of Jorge Luis Borges. He translated the story "Pierre Menard, Author of Quixote" for the academic journal Translation Review and co-authored a critical bibliography on Borges for Oxford University Press. The son of diplomats, Youssef grew up in Chile, Spain and Morocco before studying in the United States. A recipient of several research grants, he is about to begin a PhD in comparative literature, while pursuing his passion for film. He is currently developing a documentary on the skateboard scene in Morocco, produced by Nabil Ayouch and Amine Benjelloun with the 2M Morocco channel.