The 2026 Page Awards
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THE LAST PLACE

A woman delves into the forest of her own mind to solve an impossible mystery when her family disappears during a stop at a highway rest area.

Caroline Holder has the perfect little family; loving husband Jeremy and six-year-old son Calvin, a sweet little boy full of personality. On their annual road trip to visit family over the winter holidays, a quick stop at a deserted highway rest area threatens to shatter everything Caroline holds dear when her husband and son seemingly vanish into thin air. The only clue is a "MISSING" poster hanging in the rest stop kiosk, inexplicably displaying her family's likenesses.

Bewildered and desperate to find them, Caroline sets off into the surrounding woods, but fragmented memories of past tragedies and unrealistic expectations start to pierce her psyche and blur the lines between then and now. As she is drawn deeper into the forest, both her mind and the wilderness yield clues leading her closer to solving the mystery, but with each encounter - hunters, animals, the river, a cabin in the middle of nowhere - the truth becomes more unspeakable. Caroline begins to realize her family may not have been so perfect, or maybe it's her who hasn't been so perfect, as each step into the forest accesses the places in her mind where she has hidden her darkest truths.

With more and more of her life before that day coming into focus, including a dead baby girl and a downward spiral into alcoholism and despair, Caroline slowly remembers that the last place she saw her family alive may not have been at the rest stop at all. Face to face with the truth about what lead to their deaths, Caroline makes a final choice to remain in the perfect world she's created for herself, even if it means ruining someone else's.

TARGET AUDIENCE Fans of elevated psychological horror-thrillers with strong emotional cores and a touch of the supernatural, like The Others, Black Swan, and I’m Thinking of Ending Things.

Written by:
Format:
Screenplay
Budget:
Low
In the Vein Of:
The Swan
If I had Legs I'd Kick You
The Others
Posted:
03/22/2026
Updated:
03/22/2026
Author Bio:
Steffany Sommers is a So Cal native with a diverse personal history - autism mom, social worker, actor, domestic abuse survivor - that has shaped her brand as a writer. Steffany likes to write genre films with humanity and humor that examine themes of family and connection. She is devoted to creating choice roles for women, particularly those 40+, and spotlighting characters with physical and mental health challenges.

Steffany has studied her craft with Tab Murphy, Stowe Story Lab, and the Jacob Krueger Studio, placing in screenwriting competitions, such as the Austin Film Festival and PAGE International, and currently has two projects in option.

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Contest Results:
(First Place, Ring of Fire Film Festival) [2025]
Breaking Walls (Finalist) [2025]
GEMFest International (Finalist) [2026]
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