Joseph Puleo was born on July 13, 1992, in St. Louis, Missouri. He attended Lindenwood University and graduated from their School of Film in 2014. His short film, "Top Son" (2016), was a Top 5 finalist in Kevin Hart's LOL Network "Eat My Shorts Competition," where it screened at the Just For Laughs festival in Montreal. His debut feature-length documentary, "America's Last Little Italy: The Hill" (2020), about the historic St. Louis neighborhood, was shown on PBS stations across the country and received multiple awards. His second feature documentary, "A New Home," which explores St. Louis as home to the largest Bosnian community in the United States, won multiple festival awards, three Tellys, and was nominated for 2 Mid-America Emmys. He continues to write and direct films.