Erik Long is a writer and director specializing in "Survivalist Noir" – stories about the messy ways people adapt to systems built to break them. A dual U.S./Canadian citizen, Erik is local to both Los Angeles and Toronto/Vancouver.

His voice is rooted in a life of bizarre extremes. A dozen years spent in the blazer-and-tie rigidity of an elite all-boys school, contrasted by summers spent working as a deckhand in the rugged isolation of a First Nations fish camp and sablefish farm in Kyuquot, B.C. These experiences — navigating everything from the etiquette of a cricket pitch to sharing a bunk with a python-loving tattoo artist — informed his lens as a perpetual outsider.

Erik has written, directed, and produced a slate of shorts recognized on the festival circuit for their sharp social satire and grounded drama. After honing his post-production instincts at the Duplass Brothers, he transitioned to building his own slate of pilots—led by the tech-noir mystery satire AI P.I. Erik holds an MFA from LMU and a BA from UPenn.