Summer Qamp is a joyfully uplifting documentary from filmmaker Jen Markowitz. Warm and supportive, there is something gratifying about being seen, and for the first time, these teenagers feel that. It is a moving documentary that, like Camp fYrefly, is far more important than you could imagine.

In the forests of Alberta, Canada, sits Camp fYrefly, a haven for LGBTQ+ teens far away from the fierce political battle being waged against them. Summer Qamp follows a group of LGBTQ+ youth who attend a camp like no other: a judgment-free zone where they explore their authentic selves while building community, finding joy, and making memories that will last a lifetime.

While the world is still not as safe as it should and needs to be for LGBTQ+ people, Jen Markowitz’s Summer Qamp shows us the possibilities of being welcoming and creating a positive living environment for everyone. The camp is an idyllic space for young campers to explore and grow as people, to come out of their shells, and to start their journey as their true selves. However, this causes everything to feel somewhat insular, as if we are seeing these people in a bubble that will surely burst a few minutes after returning to the world.

Summer Qamp doesn’t entirely focus on what the group will experience from the camp once they leave. It is more interested in being a bundle of joy and celebrating the bravery of getting to this point and coming out. It also provides some hope for what they can now do as people without the heavy weight of their identity bearing down on them. In the end, these teenagers are just that, teenagers. They have that weight lumbered upon them that they need help removing.

Markowitz has given us a wonderfully empathetic documentary from start to finish here. Despite all of the positivity thrown at us, they place serious and important discussions throughout the film that the campers have experienced. How do you come out to a parent who has been negative about people like yourself? How do you begin your journey into transitioning? How do you learn how to act when you have no physical role models to learn from? We see the fears and stresses our campers go through and the work that those who run the camp put in to help make the experience as fruitful as possible.

Letting the group do the talking shows how it really is for them before they come to the camp. Seeing the nervousness reverberating through them at the beginning and seeing how they are at the end of the trip is fantastic. Just letting young people know that they are not alone in what they are going through and that they are safe from judgment can do wonders for them. Being a teenager is generally terrifying as it is anyway, so watching and listening to this group grow and become more visible in their identity while still being kids is a wholly rewarding thing to witness.

If Summer Qamp leaves you with one thing, it is that when you give a teenager or young person a chance to feel safe, they will flourish in such an unbelievably marvellous way. It is a film that could easily be used as an educational tool rather than as seen as a regular documentary.

★★★★

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