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Alberta is the most conservative province in Canada, politically and religiously. However, each year there is a one-week camp geared towards non-straight teenagers - gay, queer, trans, fluctuating, etc. The camp counselors are also a mixed bag of like people, so the kids can be kids without being judged by straight peers.

This documentary shows the kids doing regular camp activities, like crafts, nature walks, and climbing a rock-climbing tower. But there are other custom activities like make-up and clothing swaps (especially useful for trans kids). Another event at that camp was a meeting was gay senior citizens, who could compare experiences with them. Some are repeat campers, while many express their hope to return next year.

The film starts with interviews with some of the subjects at home, as they discuss their affectional or gender identities, then follows them to camp. A very useful aid in what might be an overwhelming set of characters is that often there would be captions for the subject's name and pronouns.

I saw this at its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, with the presence of directors, producers, and 3 of the kids (and their families). The kids (and their families) were pre-interviewed online, to get their buy-in for the project. The film crew were almost all from the LGBTQ+ community as well, which helped keep the kids relaxed. The experience did give the kids more interpersonal confidence.

A later chance meeting with the director informed me that this camp, at the end of August, was an "added week" to a regular children's camp, that the regular camp staff were present in a monitoring role, but kept their distance (and off camera). Also, the camp was subsidized by charitable organizations and people, since several of the kids came from families who would not be able to afford sending them to camp.

This is a worthwhile documentary of a worthwhile event. It was 1st runner-up in the TIFF People's Choice Award in the Documentary category.

I absolutely loved this doc, beautifully crafted and such an important piece especially during our current climate. You can see the pure joy of these young people and how freeing it was for them. It makes my heart sing to see art like this being put out. However, Ghoul, physically pains me. Not the creator or the directors fault, just unfortunate trying to enjoy the doc and having to calm myself down from being annoyed and I'm not annoyed easily. Not sure if it's because they were nervous to be filmed or if that's just what they're like. However, I digress. Again, beautiful film. Many thanks. Xx.