Summer Qamp

Summer Qamp is a 2023 Canadian documentary film, directed by Jen Markowitz.^[1] The film profiles Camp fYrefly, a summer camp program in Alberta that provides a safe space for LGBTQ youth.^[2]

Summer Qamp
Directed by	Jen Markowitz
Produced by	Tanya Blake Michelle Mama
Cinematography	Lulu Wei
Edited by	Derek Esposito Cecilio Escobar
Music by	Ames Bessada
Production companies	Bright West Entertainment Cineflix Hello Friend Media
Distributed by	Super Channel TVA
Release date	September 9, 2023 (2023-09-09) (TIFF)
Running time	80 minutes
Country	Canada
Language	English

Background

The film profiles Camp fYrefly, a summer camp program in Alberta that provides a safe space for LGBTQ youth.^[2] 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."^[3]

The project was first announced as a documentary television series in 2021,^[4] and was later revised into a feature documentary film.^[2]

Release

The film premiered at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival,^[1] and will be distributed principally as a television broadcast on Super Channel in English and TVA in French.^[2]

Awards

At TIFF, the film was named first runner-up for the People's Choice Award for Documentaries.^[5]

At the 2023 Calgary International Film Festival, the film received a special jury citation from the Best Canadian Feature Documentary award jury,^[6] and was the winner of the Audience Choice award for best Canadian documentary.^[7]

Derek Esposito and Cecilio Escobar received a Canadian Screen Award nomination for Best Editing in a Documentary at the 12th Canadian Screen Awards in 2024.^[8]