Erika Urano is a senior at NYU Tisch School of the Arts studying Film and Television with a minor in Creative Writing. She explores storytelling through screenwriting, poetry, and production design, with a focus on character-driven work and a strong visual language.

Raised in New Jersey just outside New York City, Erika grew up speaking English and Portuguese at home, with close ties to both her Japanese and Brazilian heritage. She has spent two summers in Japan studying language, culture, and art, and recently completed a semester abroad at NYU’s London campus, experiences that continue to shape her creative perspective.

Erika’s portfolio includes short films and social media videos where she has worked as a writer, director, editor, and production designer. She recently completed an internship at a film production studio, where she reviewed screenplays, provided coverage, and gained insight into the development process from page to production. She is currently an intern at the API arts nonprofit Civil Art, where she edits videos and shoots events. Alongside this, she has begun freelance editing, working with clients on a range of video projects.

Beyond film, she enjoys reading and writing poetry, and spent the last summer taking part in NYU’s Writers in New York poetry program. Her writing extends into nonfiction as well. Her essay, “The Nose Knows,” was recently published in NYU Gallatin’s Confluence magazine. Erika is also a fine artist, interested especially in multimedia and surrealist work.