Jen Markowitz

Jen Markowitz is a Canadian film and television director and producer, whose feature documentary film debut Summer Qamp was released in 2023.^[1]

Career

Television work

Markowitz previously worked in documentary and reality television, including on the series Vice Canada Reports, Canada's Drag Race, and Call Me Mother.^[1]

Markowitz is a three-time Canadian Screen Award winner for their work on Canada's Drag Race, winning Best Writing in a Lifestyle or Reality/Competition Program or Series at the 9th Canadian Screen Awards in 2021 for the episode "Welcome to the Family",^[2] and Best Reality/Competition Series both at the 9th Canadian Screen Awards at the 10th Canadian Screen Awards in 2022 as a producer of the series.^[3]

Summer Qamp

Markowitz made their feature film directing debut with Summer Qamp, a documentary which profiles Camp fYrefly, a summer camp program in Alberta that provides a safe space for LGBTQ youth.^[4] According to Markowitz, "it’s important to show the public at large that this is a community of regular kids with regular kid problems. They are all regular kids at heart, they just happened to be really weighed down by a lot of this other stuff that is put on to them by the world."^[5] The project was first announced as a documentary television series in 2021,^[6] and was later revised into a feature documentary film.^[4]

The film premiered at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival.^[7] At TIFF, the film was named first runner-up for the People's Choice Award for Documentaries.^[8] At the 2023 Calgary International Film Festival, the film received a special jury citation from the Best Canadian Feature Documentary award jury,^[9] and was the winner of the Audience Choice award for best Canadian documentary.^[10]

Personal life

Markowitz identifies as non-binary and uses gender-neutral pronouns.^[5]