A Westchester Country Day School alumna and teacher are bringing a High Point story to the big screen.

Caroline Griffith, a 2023 WCDS graduate and New York University film student, is producing and directing "Birdland," an independent coming-of-age drama based on "On the Way to Birdland," a novel by Westchester English teacher and award-winning author Frank Morelli.

Griffith, who begins her senior year at NYU this fall, is leading a nearly 100-person production that has brought professional actors and film crew members to High Point, Nashville and New York. The crew spent much of July filming throughout High Point, including several scenes on the Westchester campus.

The film follows 17-year-old Cordy, who leaves his North Carolina hometown to search for his brother and reunite his family, eventually traveling to New York City’s legendary Birdland Jazz Club.

For Griffith, the project began when she spotted Morelli’s novel on her bookshelf while looking for inspiration for a film. Having grown up in High Point and moved to New York for college, she immediately connected with the story.

“I had this underlying feeling in the back of my head that this book resonates with me and my life so well,” Griffith said. “The characters resonate with me. The story resonates with me. It’s from my hometown.”

Griffith contacted Morelli, and the two began developing the novel into a screenplay during spring break. Morelli said he had complete confidence in his former student.

“I had zero doubt at any moment because I’ve watched her as a student,” Morelli said. “I know it’s going to be done well, and she’s going to take care with it.”

A Westchester education in action

Griffith credits her Westchester experience with giving her the flexibility and encouragement to pursue filmmaking from an early age.

“Westchester has a way of individualizing everything students experience and amplifying what they already love and know how to do best,” she said.

As a fifth grader, Griffith wrote and filmed scripts for vocabulary assignments. In later years, teachers allowed her to create films in place of traditional presentations in classes ranging from history to science.

That freedom to pursue her interests, combined with an emphasis on hard work and personal responsibility, helped prepare her for the independence required to lead a professional film production.

A High Point community effort

Westchester students have worked as production assistants and social media coordinators, while alumni and families have participated as extras, opened their homes for filming, provided meals for cast and crew, and helped identify locations throughout High Point.

“They have very much exceeded my expectations,” said Griffith.

The production will continue filming in other states before entering post-production and the film festival circuit. Griffith hopes the finished film will eventually return to High Point for a community premiere.

For Morelli, watching characters he created on the page come to life in his hometown has been surreal.

“Every day is a surreal experience,” he said. “A character that I, at one point, created out of thin air now actually exists and is walking around in our hometown.”

For Westchester, the project is a testament to what can happen when students are encouraged to recognize their talents, pursue their ideas and take the initiative to make them a reality.

“So many people have dreams, and they just let them sit there,” Morelli said. “But Caroline — and so many of our students at Westchester — are a testament to recognizing those talents, putting themselves out there and saying, ‘We’re going to get it done.’”