The Year the World Ended is my debut feature, currently in the late stage of development.
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, thriller
“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:
For fifteen-year-old Eliza, a restless girl desperate to “feel something,” the 2012 Mayan apocalypse is an excuse to take YOLO to dangerous extremes. But when her all-consuming fling with a masochistic older boy unravels, so does her grip on reality, and the apocalypse she once laughed off becomes terrifyingly real.
“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:
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Second Rounder, Austin Film Festival 2025
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Quarterfinalist, Square Peg Social 2025
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Quarterfinalist, Atlanta Film Festival 2025
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Quarterfinalist, Table Ready My Screenplay - American Film Market 2025
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Semifinalist, Flickers' Rhode Island International Film Festival 2025
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Top 1% of All Projects on Coverfly
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Semifinalist, Screencraft Screenwriters Fellowship 2024
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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.