Erika Etangsalé studied at the Beaux Arts (ENSA) in Dijon then at the Institut de L'image de l'Océan Indien (ILOI) in Réunion with the idea of ​​reorienting herself towards cinema while remaining on the island where she originated. In 2012, she made her first short film Seuls les poissons morts suivre le courant, a film addressing the condition of migrants from overseas departments in the 60s and 70s and the migration policy of the French government then in place. A fiction directly inspired by her father's story. The film received the Special Jury Mention at the Guadeloupe International Film Festival and the 1st prize at the Réunion Film Festival in November 2014. She subsequently participated in various writing residencies, workshops and workshops and developed the writing of various projects including Lèv la tèt dann fénwar, a documentary in competition in 2021 at FIDMarseille.