Working hard while waiting for her big break
Peters Gen Z\\\'er looking for opportunities in film biz
EDITOR’S NOTE: This is one in a monthlong series of profiles of the people who live and work in Washington, Greene and Fayette counties, in celebration of the nation’s 250th anniversary.
Readers of a certain demographic will understand how Paige Richetti’s Barcelona adventure was, in a way, also a pilgrimage.
“The Cheetah Girls go to Barcelona is an iconic film, so that probably inspired the trip,” smiled Richetti, 21, of Peters Township.
Kidding aside, the 2023 trip to one of Europe’s oldest and largest cities is one of the defining moments in Richetti’s life.
“We try to go on at least one family vacation a year,” said Richetti, who is the youngest of four. “That trip with my sister was just really memorable for me because it was my first trip without my entire family. It was just me and her. We had the freedom to do whatever we wanted and just have fun. No parents.”
Without adult supervision – Richetti and her sister/built-in best friend Mikaela, 24, were the adults overseas – the duo explored historic Spain and encountered the seedier sides of the culture.
“We went to this really weird club and they had the worst Aperol spritz you will ever taste,” Richetti laughed. “There were tribal dancers in there, and there were just, like, predatory men. We met these two German girls and we were just dancing together and, like, warding off the men. It was really fun, but it was really weird.”
The Richetti sisters balanced their club tours with self-guided sightseeing tours, including a trip to the largest, unfinished Catholic church in the world.
“The Sagrada Familia,” said Richetti. “It was a really beautiful church. I was raised Catholic, but I don’t really go to church or practice it anymore. I just appreciate really pretty architecture.”
The strangeness and charm of the Barcelona trip inspired Paige and Mikaela to plan a second sister trip, to Puerto Rico.
Richetti enjoys play, but she earns it; she is a hard worker who hustles in the way only a struggling artist can, pulling doubles at the bar-nightclub she works at in Pittsburgh’s Strip District.
In 2023, Richetti graduated from Peters Township High School, where she was a member of the student film club and especially enjoyed her media classes, including the morning announcements and TV Broadcasting courses.
“I like technical work,” said Richetti. “I like working with something complex, and things that you have to have a skill to use.”
Following graduation, Richetti headed south, to Florida, where she earned a degree in film studies at Full Sail University. The program offered a broader scope than most film studies, which, Richetti said, focus heavily on writing. She went to work behind the scenes, focusing on camera work (she’s inspired by visionaries like Sofia Coppola and Autumn Arkapaw, the first female Oscar-winning cinematographer). But whether the focus is on writing, producing, or cinematography, breaking into the film industry has proven more difficult than Richetti imagined it would be.
“To get started, it’s really hard. You have to build a lot of portfolio to get noticed before you can get into jobs. It’s a really competitive industry, even more nowadays. Everyone is creating content, videos, and stuff, so you have a lot of competition,” said Richetti, whose ultimate goal is to do travel videography.
So she works her shifts and continues looking for opportunities in film, and relaxes or travels when time permits. Richetti is, like many Gen Z’ers, disillusioned with American politics and uncertain about her future here.
“I’m not very optimistic right now,” she said, noting that she does believe there’s hope. “But I’m also not opposed to moving.”
Actually leaving Southwestern Pennsylvania, though, would be bittersweet: Richetti recalls fondly the big Italian family holidays spent at her grandparents’ home (her paternal grandparents immigrated from Italy), and all the small moments at her own home with her immediate family, and the arts and outdoors camps at Peters Lake, and the clubs and activities, and all the little ways that a place and the people in it shape a person.
“It gave me a peaceful environment to grow up in,” said Richetti. “It’s very peaceful and quiet here. I could go into the city and have a lively day and then come back here and just chill.”