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Bio
Born and raised in Costa Rica, Erika studied Communication Sciences at the University of Costa Rica. She later obtained her MFA in Film Production at Florida State University, where she attended as a Fulbright International Fellow. Her filmography as a Writer / Director includes award winning short films, feature documentaries, and her debut narrative feature, JANUARY 1ST was licensed by HBO in 2015. Her work has screened theatrically in Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic as well as in international film festivals that include the Trinidad & Tobago Film Festival, Urbanworld Film Festival, Hollywood Film Festival, Curaçao International Film Festival Rotterdam, Costa Rica International Film Festival, etc.
Erika was recently a finalist for the 2019 Universal Studios Writers Program (top 15 from over 1000 submissions) and in 2018 Erika was chosen to participate in Ryan Murphy’s Half Initiative where she shadowed director Jennifer Lynch on season 8 (episode 7) of AMERICAN HORROR STORY. Later on, Erika shadowed Producer / Director Bryan Spicer on episode 11 of the first season of MAGNUM P.I. She was also a semi-finalist for the 2018 HBO Access Directing Fellowship, a finalist for the 2018 Commercial Directors Diversity Program and for the 2016-2018 Disney/ABC Directing Program.
She’s a TED Global Fellow 2010, a NALIP Latino Media Market Fellow, and has been selected for the Berlinale Talent Campus. Erika is permanently based in Los Angeles, where she developed a half-hour pilot for Akil Productions and Warner Bros Television. She's currently writing and developing several film and television projects, including SEVEN DAYS, SEVEN HOURS, which she developed as a winner of the Screenwriting Ruffieux Residency in Switzerland. Erika is represented by Skrzyniarz & Mallean.
