Script File

Cemetery Girl

After a mysterious meltdown in Los Angeles, 28 year old Cori Vitale is out of money and out of options. She returns to her small New Jersey hometown where she must decide whether or not to leave her visual artist dreams in LA or take over the family business: a cemetery.

Old patterns are tested, the front lines of loss are examined, and the question of whether or not evolving equates to failure are explored in this feature film seen through the eyes of an almost 30 year old woman who thought she already had it all figured out.

  • Paige Sciarrino
    Writer
    Where the Light Enters, Rolling, the blue light stays on
  • Project Type:
    Screenplay
  • Genres:
    Drama, Coming of Age
  • Number of Pages:
    95
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • First-time Screenwriter:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Big Apple Film Festival & Screenplay Competition
    New York, NY
    October 9, 2021
    Semi Finalist Feature Film Screenplay
Writer Biography - Paige Sciarrino

Paige Sciarrino is an award winning actress, screenwriter, and filmmaker based in Northern New Jersey.

She wrote, produced, and starred in the short film "the blue light stays on" which was picked up for distribution by Mattioli Productions and is available on Amazon Prime Video. The film premiered in her home state of New Jersey at the Garden State Film Festival and in New York at the Big Apple Film & Screenplay Competition. It took home awards for "Best Female Filmmaker", "Best Supporting Actress" (NJ Film Awards), "Best Original Idea" (Reale Film Festival), and her work on screen in the film was nominated for "Best Actress" at the New Jersey Film Awards.
She has a supporting role in the upcoming #MeToo era inspired horror feature film Guys At Parties Like It and can be seen every Christmas on Oxygen network's Homicide for the Holidays as leading role Stephanie Barron. In June 2022, she'll be on set with Andy Dick, Patrick Renna, and Debbe Dunning playing the role of "Lauren English" in the new feature film, "Sucker".
She graduated Magna Cum Laude in 2015 with her BFA in Acting from Montclair State University and went on to found Non Profit Off Broadway Theater Company, Normal Ave, based in Hell's Kitchen New York. Leading NY theater credits include Molly in Completeness by Tony Award Winning Playwright Itamar Moses, Meagan in the world premier of Bigger Animals, Leigh in Really, Really, and real life Holocaust survivor Eva Schloss in the 20th anniversary revival of And Then They Came For Me... which was produced in conjunction with the Museum of Jewish Heritage in Battery Park.
She had a recurring co-star role on TruTV's Hack My Life and Adult Swim's Mostly 4 Millennials, and has been in numerous other short and feature films and commercials.
She just wrapped the third short film she wrote called "Where the Light Enters". The feature film script she wrote, "Cemetery Girl" about her experience growing up living on cemetery grounds, is currently a Semi-Finalist at the Big Apple Film Festival & Screenplay Competition.
Reviews:
"Paige Sciarrino's work always strikes that perfect balance of vulnerability and ferocity. "

-Jeremy Landes, Director of Completeness & Bigger Animals
“Woman has serious talent.”

-Jordan Baker Kilner, Broadway & TV Actress
“A joy to watch on screen & be around”

-OJ Reyes, Award Winning Filmmaker

Add Writer Biography
Writer Statement

As I inch towards 30, I've begun to view my real life experience of being an artist and growing up living and working in a cemetery, my family's business, through a completely different lens. What was once something I was embarrassed to share has become a source of pride. This film is not about the COVID-19 pandemic, but I'd be lying if I said the collective global trauma and seemingly endless death experienced this year did not play a large part in the inspiration of writing this script.

Is there a way to reconcile the picture of your life you created before you experienced real adult responsibilities, major life events, and core shaking loss with the reality of where you're at now? Like Cori, the lead character in Cemetery Girl, I'm asking myself these questions. What is purpose? What does it mean to make an impact? If what you want for yourself evolves, can you still make your younger, big-dreamer self proud?

My attempt to answer these questions is in the pages of this film.