XAVIER L. BURGIN

Xavier Burgin is an Emmy-nominated writer/director from USC Cinema. He wrote on Starz’s wrestling drama, Heels. He’s written for the WWE, CryptTV, Amazon Studios, The Discovery Channel, and Paramount. He directed AMC Network’s Horror Noire, Adult Swim’s Juneteenth Holiday Special, and the BET series, Giants. Xavier is the dubbing director for Netflix’s sumo sports drama, Sanctuary.

Xavier grew up down south in Mississippi. Grandma’s TV would switch between SEC football, wrestling, movies, anime, and Playstation games. He’d ride off into the countryside on his bike for the day, then return home to watch Toonami before Bible study. Xavier’s love for storytelling grew from his fascination with religious myths. He loves the intersection between gods, angels, demons, and mortals. As a child, he wondered if these fantastical stories could exist. Now, he chooses to be the hand that writes them.

Xavier developed Sankova, a sci-fi comedy, with Justin Simien’s Culture Machine at Paramount. He wrote a horror feature for CryptTV and the WWE. He directed the English Dub of Sanctuary, a Netflix sports drama about a young sumo wrestler. Xavier’s film, Horror Noire: A History of Black Horror, expounds on the untold history of Black Americans in the genre. The documentary premiered on horror streamer, Shudder. Xavier earned a Daytime Emmy nomination for his directorial work on the BET show, Giants. He directed Juneteenth With Open Mike Eagle, an Adult Swim Special about the national holiday’s history.

Xavier’s shadowed on the TV series American Horror Story, The Ms. Pat Show, and Sacrifice. He’s participated in numerous industry programs, including: Starz Take The Lead Writing Program, Rideback Rise Fellowship, Paramount’s Viewfinder Program, Netflix’s Dubbing Initiative, The Sundance Labs, HBO’s Short Film Showcase, Berlinale Talents, The Commercial Directors Diversity Program, and Ryan Murphy’s Director Shadow Program. Xavier’s collaborations also include D.C. Comics, Lenovo, LOL Network, and Stage 3 Productions.

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 and The Film Empire Diversity Screenplay competition. It was a finalist in the Hollywood Talent Summit Screenplay competition and a quarterfinalist in the Atlanta Film Festival Screenplay competition.

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.

Watch Xavier on TEAFLIX, where he sits down with Dr. Angie and Ruth McCartney discussing everything from being Emmy® nominated to his upbringing in Alabama.