David Van Taylor

David Van Taylor's documentaries have shown around the world in venues including the Berlin Film Festival, the Film Forum, PBS, HBO, and the BBC. His feature documentaries include "Dream Deceivers," about a controversial heavy-metal suicide trial, "A Perfect Candidate," filmed behind the scenes of Oliver North's Senate campaign, and "Ghosts of Attica." He has co-created two PBS series, the Religious Right history "With God on Our Side" (recently updated for Channel 4 UK), and the TV newsroom episodic documentary "Local News." Most recently, he directed "Good Ol' Charles Schulz," which the LA Times called "an especially moving American Masters."

Van Taylor is Vice President of Lumiere Productions in New York, which is known for probing documentaries that encourage dialogue across political and social divides. Lumiere's work has been supported by supported by foundations including Ford, MacArthur, Olin and Pew, along with both the NEA and the NEH. His work has garnered major prizes, including the duPont-Columbia (the broadcast Pulitzer) and the International Documentary Association's Distinguished Achievement Award. Van Taylor graduated from Harvard College with a degree in Sociology and Afro-American Studies, and then taught science in a New York City public school.