During a seven hour train ride in Perú, a woman seeks closure with a man with whom she had an unresolved love affair seven years earlier.
SEVEN DAYS, SEVEN HOURS
Elena is a Peruvian American travel writer, and Ben is an American who owns a bed and breakfast in the Sacred Valley of Peru. During one of her trips, they spent seven unforgettable days together and formed a deep connection. Even though they parted ways, they never forgot each other. Seven years later, when Elena receives an assignment to write a newspaper piece about panoramic trains in Peru, she decides to seek closure and reaches out to him. She invites him to spend seven hours with her aboard a scenic train from Cusco to Puno. This is where our story begins... The story unfolds in fractured time, shifting between the present during this magnificent train ride, and seven years earlier, when their love affair began.
Erika Bagnarello is a renowned filmmaker with over two decades of experience bringing emotionally resonant stories to the screen. She began her career in her native Costa Rica, where she wrote, directed, and produced dozens of commercials, documentaries, and short-form scripted projects. Her debut feature film as a writer/director, Primero de Enero, was shot in the Dominican Republic and licensed by HBO.
In 2015, Erika relocated to Los Angeles, where she produced internationally for brands such as Chanel, DHL, and CNN Create while advancing her screenwriting and directing career. Soon after she arrived, she developed a TV pilot for Warner Bros. Television with the guidance of showrunner Mara Brock Akil. In 2020, she pitched and developed an original young adult pilot for Netflix.
Erika has shadowed television directors on shows that include American Horror Story and Magnum P.I. In 2017, she directed the feature documentary Gigi, and most recently, she wrote and directed the short film Alma, which is currently in the festival circuit.
A Fulbright Fellow and MFA graduate, Erika has taught numerous film courses at universities in the U.S., including LIU Brooklyn, Adelphi University, New Mexico State University, and her alma mater, Florida State University. She has been selected to participate in prestigious programs such as Berlinale Talents, TED Fellows, Ryan Murphy’s Half Initiative, and NALIP’s Producing Academy.
She is a proud member of the Writers Guild of America East, the Costa Rican Women Directors’ Union, and Film Fatales. A nomad at heart, Erika spends her time between her homes in Costa Rica and New York City, where she’s currently developing multiple film and TV projects.
Finalist, Universal Studios Writing Program (features) - 2018-2019
Winner Of Screenwriting Ruffieux Residency, Switzerland - 2016
