The Year the World Ended is my debut feature, currently in the late stage of development.
Set in the final months before December 21st, 2012, it follows a teenage girl who treats the Mayan Apocalypse as a deadline to achieve everything she thinks she’s supposed to want. Amid early social media, parental instability, and end-of-the-world anxiety, it’s a surreal, intimate, and unflinching portrait of girlhood on the edge of collapse.
All quotes are from industry members of the official Black List website.
“This is a resolutely commercial project, one that might cannily leverage the current 2000s/early 2010s nostalgia while presenting a frank, specific, and compassionate character study. It's as easy to imagine THE YEAR THE WORLD ENDED dominating the festival circuit as an out-of-nowhere indie as it is to picture it as a multiplex crowd-pleaser.”
Title: The Year the World Ended
Written & Directed by: Jacqueline Xerri
Genre: Coming-of-age, drama, dark comedy
Stage: Seeking producing partners and investors
Timeline: In development for Fall 2026 production
“THE YEAR THE WORLD ENDED has the emotional authenticity of EIGHTH GRADE and BOOKSMART and portrays 15-year-old Eliza and her friends’ sexual exploration and partying with the unflinching honesty of a less salacious KIDS or EUPHORIA, making it, and its valuable message, more accessible to the age group it portrays.”
Logline:
As the 2012 Mayan apocalypse looms, a lovesick teen races to complete her end-of-the-world bucket list, desperate to become someone unforgettable before time runs out. But when she falls for a volatile nineteen-year-old, fantasy and obsession threaten to destroy her before the world does.
“A true rarity, this script is the product of a seriously compassionate author, and the style, humor, and emotional intelligence are a delight.”
Accolades:
Black List Recommended
This screenplay has received two 8+ overall scores from Black List readers. Only 3.5% of all evaluations result in an 8+ overall score, so this project ranks among the top 1% of projects on blcklst.com. Past Black List Recommended Scripts include JUNO, WHIPLASH, THE SOCIAL NETWORK, PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN, SUPERBAD, and THE FAULT IN OUR STARS.
Semifinalist, CineStory Feature Retreat and Fellowship 2023
This project was chosen to participate in one-on-one mentorship sessions with industry professionals at a selective retreat in Idyllwild, California. This program provides attendees feedback on improving the craft of their script. Past participants of this fellowship have gone on to pen films such as IRON MAN and CHILDREN OF MEN.
Screenplay Competition Success
Quarterfinalist, Atlanta Film Festival 2025 (Academy Award Qualifying)
Semifinalist, Screencraft Screenwriters Fellowship 2024
Finalist, Imagine This Women’s Film Festival 2024
"It's all about Eliza herself here, a sympathetic, compelling protagonist who lets us into her own thoughts. The right actress could have a breakout role here.”
To request the official pitch deck, please get in touch at jacquelinexerri@gmail.com.