Xavier Gens

---

title: "Xavier Gens" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1975-births", "living-people", "french-film-directors", "people-from-dunkirk", "french-male-film-actors", "french-horror-film-directors"] description: "French film director" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xavier_Gens" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary French film director ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox person"]

Field	Value
name	Xavier Gens
image	Xavier Gens.png
caption	Gens at the Teatro Victoria Eugenia in 2011
birth_date
birth_place	Dunkirk, France
occupation	Film director, screenwriter, producer
yearsactive	1996–present
::

| name = Xavier Gens | image = Xavier Gens.png | caption = Gens at the Teatro Victoria Eugenia in 2011 | birth_date = | birth_place = Dunkirk, France | occupation = Film director, screenwriter, producer | yearsactive = 1996–present Xavier Gens (; born on ) is a French film director, screenwriter and producer.

Career

Gens directed three short films in his native language, BTK – Born to Kast (2000), Au petit matin (2005) and Sable noir (2006), before being hired by 20th Century Fox to direct his debut English-language film, Hitman (2007). The same year, he directed his first French-language feature, Frontier(s).

In October 2007, a few weeks before the film's release, reports came in that Fox had turned down the version that Gens submitted to them. Nicolas de Toth was brought in to edit the film for commercial purposes and the studio ordered reshoots. While the studio denied claims that Gens had been fired due to the extreme violence in his cut, and insisted that he was still on the project, some reports stated that Gens was not even in the country as these reshoots were being made. Despite being critically panned, Hitman was a success with a gross of $92 million, Gens' most successful film.

He narrated and produced the French zombie film La Horde, directed by Yannick Dahan and Benjamin Rocher. The film was released in 2009 and distributed by IFC Films. Gens directed The Divide (initially titled The Fallout), his second English-language film, which features Michael Biehn in the lead role.

On television, he has directed episodes of Crossing Lines (2014), Gangs of London (2020), Mortel (2021) and Lupin (2023).

In 2024, his Netflix shark-themed film, Under Paris, became what was described as "the popcorn film of the summer". The same year, alongside Vincent Roget and Eric Lavaine's banner Sameplayer, Gens launched a new production company called Good Players.

Filmography

Short films ::data[format=table]

Year	Title	Director	Writer	Notes
2000	BTK – Born to Kast
2005	Au petit matin
2006	Sable noir
2012	X Is for XXL			Segment of The ABCs of Death
::

Feature films ::data[format=table]

Year	Title	Director	Writer
2007	Frontier(s)
Hitman
2011	The Divide
2017	Cold Skin
The Crucifixion
Budapest
2023	Farang
2024	Under Paris
::

Acting roles

• Le Bon, la Brute et les Zombies (2004)
• Lady Blood (2008)
• La Horde (2009, voice only)

Television ::data[format=table]

Year	Title	Notes
2006	Sable noir	Episode "Fotografik"
2014	Crossing Lines	3 episodes
2020	Gangs of London	3 episodes
2021	Mortel	3 episodes
2023	Lupin	3 episodes
::

Other credits ::data[format=table]

Year	Title	Role
1996	Maximum Risk	Production assistant
Never Ever
1997	Double Team
Madame Jacques sur la Croisette
Le Bossu	Production manager
Les Kidnappeurs
1999	The Secret Laughter of Women	Production assistant
2000	30 Ans	Casting director
Cramps	Production assistant
2009	La Horde
2016	Cell
::

References

References

1. (2007). "Xavier Gens". [[The New York Times]].
2. Amner, Darren. (24 October 2007). "Eye For Film: Xavier Gens interview about Frontiere(s)/Frontier(s)".
3. Thomas, Gabriel. (17 December 2022). "A Face Full of Glass: Examining "FRONTIER(S)" Fifteen Years Later". Rue Morgue.
4. Brevet, Brad. (11 October 2007). "'Hitman' Will Be Rated R and De Toth is Just a Consultant". ComingSoon.
5. Giles, Jeff. (6 November 2007). "Timothy Olyphant Addresses Hitman Rumors". Rotten Tomatoes.
6. Blevins, Adam. (12 December 2024). "Timothy Olyphant’s 16% Rotten Tomatoes Video Game Adaptation Just Landed on a Free Streaming Service".
7. Miska, Brad. (5 February 2010). "Xavier Gens' Post-Apocalyptic Thriller Drops Title". BloodyDisgusting.
8. (11 July 2012). "The Horde – New International One-Sheet". DreadCentral.
9. (9 January 2010). "New International One Sheet for 'The Horde'". BloodyDisgusting.
10. (12 July 2012). "The Horde – The Dead Bring the Violence in Latest Clip". DreadCentral.
11. (17 May 2010). "First Look at a Badass Michael Biehn in 'The Divide'". BloodyDisgusting.
12. (22 May 2010). "OMFG of the Day: Early Teaser for 'The Divide' Promises Everlasting Battle of Man vs Man!". BloodyDisgusting.
13. "Xavier Gens | GANGS OF LONDON".
14. Hamman, Cody. (9 April 2024). "Under Paris trailer: Xavier Gens shark thriller reaches Netflix in June". JoBlo.
15. Heritage, Stuart. (6 June 2024). "Under Paris: Netflix has delivered one of the best shark movies ever made". The Guardian.
16. Barber, Nicholas. (7 June 2024). "Under Paris: Why a French film about a killer shark in the Seine is the popcorn movie of the summer so far".
17. Keslassy, Elsa. (21 May 2024). "''Mayhem!'' Director Xavier Gens Launches Banner Good Players With French Producers; Develops Netflix Series ''Malin Fors'' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety.
18. (2 November 2009). "AFM 09: Promo Art for Xavier Gens' 'The Fallout'". BloodyDisgusting.

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::