Eric D. Seals is a seasoned cinematographer and film director with 10+ years experience creating and managing feature films, television, and digital content series. Most recently he was a Director of Photography on The History’s Channel “Tulsa Burning: The 1921 Massacre'' and ESPN’s “Omitted: The Black Cowboy.”
He holds a Bachelor's degree from Murray State University with concentrations in Electronic Media and Business Administration. Eric started his career at ESPN where he worked as a video editor. In 2020, he was selected as a Diverse Voices in Documentaries Fellow with Kartemquin Films, the leading documentary film house in the midwest, and in 2021 he was selected as a Netflix Directing and Producing Fellow.
He is the founder and creative director of Digifé, a full-service film production company that focuses on documentaries and social impact stories. Eric and Digife have netted numerous awards, produced a number of commercials and TV shows, and have developed a variety of content for different brands. His team has worked with clients such as US Bank, Miller Lite, The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, BOSCH, Northwestern University, ComEd and Leo Burnett to name a few.
As a Director of Photography he has worked on shows such as Amazon’s Fare-Well, Disney/Tastemade’s Mad Good Food, YouTube Originals A New Green Book, and Award Winning Documentary, Freedom Hill, BET’s Change the Name, Pete Buttigieg’s South Bend Stories, and The Takeover, which was an official selection in the American Black Film Festival.
He prides himself in being a creative problem solver which makes him a great person to have on your crew. Eric enjoys giving back to the film community by facilitating workshops and has recently become an Adjunct Professor at Depaul University teaching a course in Sports Documentary Production..
Eric is currently developing his fourth film, Bike Vessel, in partnership with Kartemquin. Bike Vessel tells the story of Eric’s dad, Donnie Seals Sr., defying health statistics after having three open-heart surgeries and renewing his lease on life through cycling. It examines health disparities among Black men,
the group with the lowest life expectancy and highest death rate of any other racial and ethnic group.