Cyril Christo (born 11 May 1960,

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, France) is a writer, poet, photographer, filmmaker and

animal rights Animal rights is the philosophy according to which many or all Animal consciousness, sentient animals have Moral patienthood, moral worth independent of their Utilitarianism, utility to humans, and that their most basic interests—such as ...

activist residing in

Santa Fe, New Mexico Santa Fe ( ; , literal translation, lit. "Holy Faith") is the capital city, capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Santa Fe County. With over 89,000 residents, Santa Fe is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, fourt ...

. He has created or co-created a number of poetry and photography books that include ''Lost Africa: The Eyes of Origin'', ''Walking Thunder: In the Footsteps of the African Elephant'', and ''In Predatory Light: In Search of Lions, Tigers and Polar Bears''. He is the son of Christo Vladimirov Javacheff and Jeanne-Claude Denat de Guillebon, who are known as the artists

Christo and Jeanne-Claude Christo Vladimirov Javacheff (1935–2020) and Jeanne-Claude Denat de Guillebon (1935–2009), known as Christo and Jeanne-Claude, were artists noted for their large-scale, site-specific environmental installations, often large landmarks a ...

. Since 1997 he frequently works on films and books with his wife, Marie Wilkinson, and occasionally too with his son Lysander. The three of them worked with

Jane Goodall Dame Jane Morris Goodall (; born Valerie Jane Morris-Goodall; 3 April 1934), formerly Baroness Jane van Lawick-Goodall, is an English zoologist, Primatology, primatologist and Anthropology, anthropologist. She is considered the world's foremo ...

on the book ''Lords of the Earth: The Entwined Destiny of Wildlife and Humanity''. Christo and Wilkinson's first book of black and white photography, ''Lost Africa: The Eyes of Origin'', published by Assouline Publishing in 2005, focused on ecological and man-made troubles that face tribal communities in the

Horn of Africa The Horn of Africa (HoA), also known as the Somali Peninsula, is a large peninsula and geopolitical region in East Africa.Robert Stock, ''Africa South of the Sahara, Second Edition: A Geographical Interpretation'', (The Guilford Press; 2004), ...

. Photographs from that project were also published.

Early life and education

Christo was born in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and has lived in the United States since the age of four, when his family moved there in 1964. Christo studied at

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

and graduated from

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

in 1982.

Film work

Together with his wife Mary Wilkinson he has been engaged since 1996 in wildlife documentary projects and has published several photography books about Africa that call attention to endangered animals such as

elephant Elephants are the largest living land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant ('' Loxodonta africana''), the African forest elephant (''L. cyclotis''), and the Asian elephant ('' Elephas maximus ...

leopards The leopard (''Panthera pardus'') is one of the five extant cat species in the genus ''Panthera''. It has a pale yellowish to dark golden fur with dark spots grouped in rosettes. Its body is slender and muscular reaching a length of with a ...

giraffe The giraffe is a large Fauna of Africa, African even-toed ungulate, hoofed mammal belonging to the genus ''Giraffa.'' It is the Largest mammals#Even-toed Ungulates (Artiodactyla), tallest living terrestrial animal and the largest ruminant on ...

s, and

lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'', native to Sub-Saharan Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body (biology), body; a short, rounded head; round ears; and a dark, hairy tuft at the ...

s. as well as appeals for more stricter measures to enforce the protection of

whale Whales are a widely distributed and diverse group of fully Aquatic animal, aquatic placental mammal, placental marine mammals. As an informal and Colloquialism, colloquial grouping, they correspond to large members of the infraorder Cetacea ...

s and

polar bears The polar bear (''Ursus maritimus'') is a large bear native to the Arctic and nearby areas. It is closely related to the brown bear, and the two species can interbreed. The polar bear is the largest extant species of bear and land carnivo ...

. Their son Lysander (born 22 September 2005) has participated in their projects in

East Africa East Africa, also known as Eastern Africa or the East of Africa, is a region at the eastern edge of the Africa, African continent, distinguished by its unique geographical, historical, and cultural landscape. Defined in varying scopes, the regi ...

from an early age. In 2007 they released a short documentary film titled ''Lysander's Song'' about the interactions between humans and elephants. Cyril Christo is the co-producer of '' A Stitch for Time: The Boise Peace Quilt Project,'' which was nominated in 1998 for an

Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature The Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature Film is an award for documentary films. In 1941, the first awards for feature-length documentaries were bestowed as Academy Honorary Award, Special Awards to ''Kukan'' and ''Target for Tonight''. The ...

. The film documents activities of a group of quilt makers in

Boise, Idaho Boise ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Idaho, most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, there were 235,685 people residing in the city. Loca ...

, who received international attention for promoting peace by sending a quilt in 1981 to the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

as well as making the ''National Peace Quilt'' in 1986 for display in the United States Senate and later deposit at the Smithsonian Institution. The film ''Walking Thunder: Ode to the African Elephant'' about Lysander's encounter with elephants in East Africa was screened at the 2019

Taos Taos or TAOS may refer to: Places * Taos County, New Mexico, United States ** Taos, New Mexico, a city, the county seat of Taos County, New Mexico *** Taos art colony, an art colony founded in Taos, New Mexico ** Taos Pueblo, a Native American ...

Environmental Film Festival.

Book publications

* 1990: ''The Dream of the Earth''. Edwin Mellen Press, Lewiston. (Book of Poems) * 1990: ''The Iguana at the Millenium: Poems: 14''. Edwin Mellen Press, Lewiston. (Book of Poems) * 1993: ''

Christo Christo Vladimirov Javacheff (1935–2020) and Jeanne-Claude Denat de Guillebon (1935–2009), known as Christo and Jeanne-Claude, were artists noted for their large-scale, site-specific environmental installations, often large landmarks a ...

: The Reichstag and Urban Projects''. (Contributor) * 1997: ''Hiroshima, My Love'' (

Epic poem In poetry, an epic is a lengthy narrative poem typically about the extraordinary deeds of extraordinary characters who, in dealings with gods or other superhuman forces, gave shape to the mortal universe for their descendants. With regard to ...

on the theme of

Hiroshima is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 1,199,391. The gross domestic product (GDP) in Greater Hiroshima, Hiroshima Urban Employment Area, was US$61.3 billion as of 2010. Kazumi Matsui has b ...

) * 1998: ''Whispering Veils : Poems on

's Art''. Hugh Lauter Levin Associates, New York. * 1998: ''The Twilight Language'', Canios Editions. * 2004: ''Lost Africa: Eyes of Origin''. Assouline, New York City. (with Marie Wilkinson * 2004: ''Africa : la terre des origines''. (in French) * 2009: ''Walking Thunder: In the Footsteps of the African Elephant''. Merrell, London. * 2013: ''In Predatory Light: Lions and Tigers and Polar Bears''. Merrell, London. (with Marie Wilkinson) * 2022: ''Lords of the Earth: The Entwined Destiny of Wildlife and Humanity''. (with Marie Wilkinson and Lysander Christo, prologue by

) * 2024: ''Wonder and the World: A Childhood Among the Species''. Verlag Kettler. (with Marie Wilkinson and Lysander Christo)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Christo, Cyril 1960 births Living people American poets American documentary filmmakers American people of Bulgarian descent American people of French descent American nature photographers People from Santa Fe, New Mexico Columbia College (New York) alumni Film producers from New Mexico