Swarnavel Eswaran is a Professor in the Department of English and the School of Journalism at Michigan State University, where he teaches film history, theory, and production. He graduated from the Film and Television Institute of India and the University of Iowa.

His documentaries include Nagapattinam: Waves from the Deep (2018), Hmong Memories at the Crossroad (2016), Migrations of Islam (2014), and Unfinished Journey: A City in Transition (2012).

His research focuses on the history, aesthetics, politics, and contemporary digital cinema of Tamil and Indian cinema, as well as concomitant changes. His essays have appeared in Screen, Jump Cut, South Asian Popular Culture, Studies in South Asian Films and Media, and Caste: A Global Journal on Social Exclusion.

His books include Spike Lee (Neelam, 2025), Mudhal Moovar: Bresson, Bunuel, and Ozu (Thaiveedu, 2025), Tamil Cinema Reviews: 1931-1960 (Nizhal, 2020), and Madras Studios: Narrative, Genre, and Ideology in Tamil Cinema (Sage, 2015).

His fiction feature Kattumaram (Catamaran, 2019), a collaboration with Mysskin, has been screened at over 50 international film festivals, including Frameline, InsideOut, and Kashish. He is currently engaged in post-production work on his fiction film Thangam or: Chabrol in My Village.

He received the Tamil American Pioneer Award for art and entertainment from FeTNA in 2025.