Zeina Abirached was born in Beirut in the middle of the civil war. She studied graphic arts in Lebanon, but moved to Paris in 2004, where she attended the National School of Decorative Arts. In 2006, she published her first two graphic novels with Cambourakis, Beyrouth-Catharsis and 38, Rue Youssef Semaani. Her short film Mouton was shown at the fifth international film festival in Téhéran. Her graphic novel Mourir, Partir, Revenir - Le Jeu des Hirondelles recounts her experiences during the civil war, when she was a child.