Xavier de Lauzanne was born in 1970 in Paris region. He studied to be a hotel manager before setting up hotel management courses for underprivileged young people in Martinique, Vietnam, and Cambodia. He bought his first digital camera in 1999 to film a documentary in Vietnam for a year, Hanoi entre deux 14 juillet. He trains as filmmaker and shoots his firs independent documentary, Retour sur la RC4. Together with François-Hugues de Vaumas, he co-founds production company Aloest Productions.
Very touched by people he meets randomly during his travels, he starts directing independent documentaries, which focus mainly on human being.