21st HollyShorts Film Festival, 2025

Xian Elder is an acclaimed Los Angeles-based writer, director, and producer, recognized with the de Groot Foundation’s Writer of Note Award for his thought-provoking play #NWORD. He is a recommended writer on The Black List with six of his scripts having scored 8/10. In addition, he’s been honored as a semifinalist in the ScreenCraft Screenwriting Fellowship, a finalist in NEC Cutting Edge Playhouse Emerging Playwrights, a finalist in Tribeca All Access Connects, a shortlisted nominee in Roland Joffe’s Med Screen Arts Screenwriting Competition, and a quarterfinalist in the Oscars’ Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting for co-writing The Priest & the Mercenary.

Having pursued a career in fine arts, advertising and graphic design, Elder turned toward writing and filmmaking. He's received a number of grants, recognitions and awards for his writing. His bold plays have enjoyed staged readings in Los Angeles, New York, and in North Carolina at the request of The International Black Theatre Festival. His short films have screened at many festivals including LA Shorts International Film Festival, Hill Country Film Festival, the Greater Cleveland Urban Film Festival and the HollyShorts Film Festival. Presently, Woke, his latest vampire horror short film, is screening at festivals and he recently completed a play set during the 2025 LA Fires entitled Play with Fire.

@xian_elder