The Work That Made Me: Erica Eng
Erica Eng is a fifth-generation Chinese-American director based out of Los Angeles. She wrote and directed 'Americanized' based on her experiences growing up in Oakland and playing high school basketball. The film garnered 26 awards, including the Oscar-qualifying award at Cinequest. Erica’s latest film, 'Off Fairfax,' a comedic mystery-thriller which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival and took home an Honorable Mention at Slamdance. Meanwhile, her next film, 'The Ghost' (produced by Disney’s Launchpad alongside Executives from Marvel Studios and Lucasfilm), is a coming-of-age drama/horror that premiered at HollyShorts and is currently streaming on Disney+.
Aside from narrative directing, Erica’s commercial work has been featured in Shots, Muse by Clio, and recognised as AdAge’s 'Editor’s Pick' and 'Pick of the Week.' She was selected for SHOOT Magazine’s New Directors Showcase and the Commercial Directors Diversity Program (CDDP) – a fellowship partnered with the Directors Guild of America and the Association of Independent Commercial Producers. Since then, Erica has directed for Meta, Verizon, Bank of America, and Procter & Gamble.
As the solo domestic winner of the 2023 Academy Gold Fellowship for Women, Erica is currently developing her first narrative feature with a mentor from The Academy. Her combined background in cinematography and dance influences the rhythm and energy behind her visual style. Inspired by her Oakland roots, Erica is an emotional storyteller who creates work that reflects the diverse community in which she grew up.
Erica is represented by Strike Anywhere in the US and Great Guns in the UK.
The ad/music video from my childhood that stays with me…
Erica> Too many. But when I was a kid editing my own videos, I was inspired by Spike Jonze’s 'What’s Up Fatlip' and The Pharcyde 'Drop' from the Director’s Series DVD collection because they were creative low-fi videos that felt original yet attainable.
The ad/music video/game/web platform that made me want to get into the industry…
Erica> Funnily enough, Ludacris’s 'Get Back' by Dave Meyers. I was a huge Missy Elliot and Ludacris fan in high school, and Dave Meyers basically directed all of their videos. I remember thinking, I wanna be a music video director like Dave Meyers and do weird shit like that.
The creative work that I keep revisiting…
Erica> Erykah Badu. I’ve seen her maybe five times in concert with my older sister. Orange Moon, Green Eyes… she has such great storytelling in her work. Years ago, I saw her at the Oakland Fox Theatre, and a young artist named Janelle Monae opened for her. Monae sang while painting on a big easel and gave it to someone in the audience after the song ended. It was great.
But I’m a nerd for research, and I’m currently developing a feature film, so I’ve been revisiting 'Little Miss Sunshine,' 'Fleabag,' 'Ladybird,' and a bunch of other family dramas. The Japanese film 'Shoplifters' is also one of my favourite films, and I’ll get caught up watching that too.
My first professional project…
Erica> I think it might have been this anti-smoking campaign with a bunch of young rappers. One of them was Latto, which is funny to see her blown up right now.
The piece of work that made me so angry that I vowed to never make anything like *that*…
Erica> A long time ago, when I was doing indie music videos, I was hired by this singer to do a performance music video. I filmed at her house and didn’t even get halfway through the edit before she cancelled the project and never paid me. It wasn’t until years later, when she tried to add me on LinkedIn, that I brought it up, and she finally paid me back for the entire music video budget which was a whopping $400.
The piece of work (ad/music video/ platform…) that still makes me jealous…
Erica> 'Barry' the TV Series, and certain sequences of 'Peaky Blinders.' It doesn’t make me 'jealous,' but I burst with admiration watching these shows. I love a good sequence, like the 'Pick it up Pikey' moment in Peaky Blinders or the Taekwondo girl episode 'ronny/lily' in Barry. I especially appreciate how Peaky Blinders has really great music composition with rhythmic edit choices that make some of their sequences feel like a rock music video in the middle of an episode. It has so much energy and passion mixed with great blocking, storytelling, and acting.
The creative project that changed my career…
Erica> The 'Panda Express' commercial that I directed with The Many. They had this great creative brief about a boy learning about Chinese New Year for the first time, and it’s probably one of my favourite collaborations. It also felt really personal because I brought some of my own family memories to the spot.
Panda Express Invites Everyone to Find Moments Worth Savouring This Lunar New Year
The work that I’m proudest of…
Erica> Maybe 'Americanized' because it was my first short film and it came from such a personal place. I wrote the film based on my experiences growing up in Oakland and playing high school basketball. I felt like my perspective as a fifth-generation Chinese American and being an outsider amongst other Asian Americans wasn’t ever represented or talked about in film. To this day, I get excited hearing stories of others who felt seen through this film because they, too, felt caught between two worlds within their own identities.
I had such a great team working on this film, and we were up against a lot of hardships with this production. I remember feeling a lot of pressure to make this film work in order not to let everyone down. I’m forever thankful that we pulled through and created this film - it’s an experience I’ll never forget. Lately, I’ve directed a few projects written by other writers, and even though I enjoy that process, I feel like 'Americanized' is a reminder that I need to get back to writing more stories that come from my heart, too.
I was involved in this, and it makes me cringe…
Erica> I hate looking back at my old work in general. But part of being a director is trying things and discovering what you like and don’t like. For instance, I tried to do a music video with a love story or a performance video that was moody and abstract; they all didn’t feel like 'me' but, instead, someone I was trying to be. It’s cringeworthy to watch, and these projects will never see the light of day, but I learned a lot from trying and failing to develop the style I have now.
The recent project I was involved in that excited me the most…
Erica> I recently directed a short film that Disney produced alongside executives from Marvel and Lucasfilm called 'The Ghost,' and it’s currently streaming on Disney+! It was one hell of an experience directing a film through the studio system. I learned a lot, but mostly to trust my gut and instincts as a director.
We shot in one location over five-consecutive shoot days. I had a great production designer, Dong Lei, who was tasked with the challenge of quietly flipping a whole house from a 1970s look to a more modern look, all while we were filming in other parts of the house. I also worked with cinematographer, Kristen Zuniga, and this is maybe our third project together. We got to play with a lot of in-camera lighting effects and long camera moves, and he did a really great job with the lighting and overall look of the film. This was also my first time working with stunts and visual effects. I worked with Bill George, an Oscar-winning visual Effects artist at George Lucas’s Company, Industrial Light & Magic. He was a great collaborator, and I really loved working with the ILM team. I can’t say enough about the amazing people we had on this film, and I can’t wait for everyone to watch it!
