Lucien Castaing-Taylor is an American filmmaker and anthropologist based in London, England. He is a professor of visual and environmental studies at Harvard University and the director of the Sensory Ethnography Lab. Castaing-Taylor is best known for his work as a director and producer of documentary films, including Sweetgrass (2009) and Leviathan (2012).
Castaing-Taylor was born in Paris, France in 1962. He grew up in France and England, spending his childhood mostly in the south of France. He studied anthropology at Cambridge and then received his PhD in Visual Anthropology from the University of Manchester in 1993. In the same year, he was appointed as a lecturer at the University of Manchester.
In 1997, he moved to the United States and joined the faculty of Harvard University. At Harvard, Castaing-Taylor co-founded the Sensory Ethnography Lab, which produces innovative films that explore the relationship between humans and their environment. His work has been featured in numerous international film festivals. He is also the author of several books, including A Sensory Ethnography of the Supermarket (2001), Sweetgrass (2011), and Leviathan (2013).
Castaing-Taylor is known for pushing the boundaries of traditional documentary filmmaking with his creative and immersive approach. His films often explore themes of loss and transformation, and often involve the use of handheld cameras and audio recordings. His films are often praised for their poetic and deeply emotional qualities.
In recent years, Castaing-Taylor has also become involved in other forms of media, including photography and virtual reality. He has also ventured into the world of video game design, creating the critically acclaimed game Castaing-Taylor's Island (2014).
Castaing-Taylor's work has received numerous awards, including the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival and the Alfred I. duPont-Columbia Award. He has been recognized for his unique approach to the documentary form and his ability to capture the power of the human experience.
