Xavier Burgin is an Emmy-nominated writer/director from USC’s School of Cinematic Arts. He’s the director of Shudder’s first original documentary, Horror Noire: A History of Black Horror. He’s also a Sundance Lab Fellow, HBO alumni, Ryan Murphy Half Fest alum, semifinalist for the Student Academy Awards, quarterfinalist for The Academy Nicholl Fellowship, and a director on the Emmy nominated series, Giants.
Xavier’s feature documentary, Horror Noire, expounds on the history of Black Americans in horror cinema. The film, currently streaming on Shudder, has been covered by the A.V. Club, The Hollywood Reporter, The Guardian, Slash Film, The Verge, Entertainment Weekly, and more. It was featured in an educational screening hosted by The Toronto International Film Festival. It includes interviews from Jordan Peele, Keith David, Tony Todd, Rachel True, Paula Jai Parker, Richard Lawson, and more prominent actors, filmmakers, and scholars in the horror genre. It currently holds a “Fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Xavier directed Episode 204: Lights Out and Episode 207: Okay In the Silence, of the Emmy nominated series, Giants, currently on Issa Rae’s Color Creative. Xavier’s work has been nominated for an Emmy in the “Outstanding Directing for a Digital Drama Series” category. The series has been picked up for television via TV One.
Xavier is a fellow of The Sundance Institute’s YouTube New Voices Lab where his series, Late Registration, was selected. Xavier shadowed on the set of American Horror Story as a member of the RMTV Half Foundation, a diversity mentorship program created by Ryan Murphy (American Horror Story, Scream Queens). Xavier has also been a semi-finalist for ABC|Disney’s Directing and Writer Programs, Sony’s Diverse Director’s Program, and Viacom’s Emerging Directors Program.
Xavier’s feature script, On Time, has won The Screencraft Drama Competition, The Film Empire Diversity Screenplay competition, and Ivy Film Festival Graduate Screenplay Competition. It was a finalist in the Hollywood Talent Summit Screenplay competition and Atlanta Film Festival Screenplay competition. It was a quarterfinalist in The Academy Nicholl Fellowship.
On Time, Xavier’s proof of concept for his feature script of the same name, is an HBO short film finalist, Audience Award Social Political Film Festival Jury Winner, netted him a Best Director award at Sunscreen Film Festival West, and won Best Actress at Poland’s Grand Off Film Festival. It premiered on HBO and has been seen on Cinemax and Spectrum. Olde E, his thesis film, was a semi-finalist for the 43rd Student Academy Awards and chosen for Ryan Murphy’s Director’s showcase. Other, his film about Black America’s two voices, has been featured on Shadow & Act, Bossip, and Colorlines.
Xavier has worked with AMC, Shudder, Kevin Hart’s LOL Network, Baron Davis’ No Label, Stage 3 Productions, Bazelevs, Google, and Lenovo. He infuses his progressive ideals and transformative beliefs into every project he undertakes.
Que The Lights © 2010 Xavier Burgin Los Angeles, CA www.quethelights.com
