Mano Khalil was born in Kurdistan, Syria. From 1981-1986, he studied history and law at Damascus University in Syria, followed by fiction film direction in former Czechoslovakia from 1987-1994. He later worked as independent film director for Czechoslovakian and later for Slovakian television. Since 1996, he has lived in Switzerland, working as independent film director and producer. He founded the production film company, Frame Film, in 2012.