“I didn’t want to be a writer. I wanted to be an actress. I didn’t realize then, that it‘s the same impulse. It’s make-believe. It’s performance.  The only difference being that a writer can do it all alone.” 
- Joan Didion


SCREENPLAYS

DON’T MESS WITH TEXAS 

LOGLINE: After Ivy, a young girl growing up in Texas, is raped at the Debutante Ball, reality blurs to a Western fantasy, transforming her to an Outlaw Cowgirl as she confronts her assault. 

In Don’t Mess with Texas, I explore themes of assault while connnecting to my Western roots as a 6th generation Texan. For me, this screenplay lives out some of the many fantasies and stories I craved as a young girl grappling with growing up in a hyper-masculine enviroment. I hope by reclaiming the western genre through a magical feminist lens, I can bring this sexist genre a new era.

Don’t Mess with Texas was awarded as a Round 2 Finalist for the Lower East Side Film Festival’s Stay Indie Project, and most recently was selected to particpate in NYU Alumni’s Pitchfest in Los Angeles.  


SHORT FILMS written by Cita 

MY SAVIOR
A PLAYGROUND FUNERAL 


ABOUT MY WRITING 
My screenplays always contains a sense of magic. I believe that our fantasies are mirrors of our own realities and often demonstrate our raw mental and physical state at that time. I hope by exploring fantastical emotional worlds, I’m able to tell stories that fill in the gaps we’re often missing in assault and coming of age narratives.

Cita is currently working on writing her second feature film, which explores fairytale themes that analyze ageing and global warming through the lens of a modern day witch.

For more info, contact me: cita.atwell22@gmail.com