Summercamp!

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Summercamp!

2006

1h 24m

Documentary

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

78%

Tomatometer

23 Reviews

53%

Popcornmeter

500+ Ratings

Bradley Beesley and Sarah Price's documentary captures the experiences of a group of children over the course of their summer at the Swift Nature Camp in the woods of Wisconsin. Many of the kids have behavioral problems and are on medication for attention deficit disorders. At Swift, however, the focus of the counselors and kids on engaging in vigorous physical activity (horseback riding, kayaking, archery, swimming) and living harmoniously creates surprising results.

Critics Consensus

Like stories about camp, Summercamp! might be best appreciated by those with memories of the experience -- but for its target audience, it's appropriately fun and poignant.

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Paul West

Seattle Times

09/14/2007

3/4

Summercamp! maintains a gentle, lackadaisical tone that eloquently captures the triumphs and traumas of this ageless ritual.

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Robert Abele

Los Angeles Times

08/31/2007

3/5

Brief bits of real charm, personality and camp-life detail squeeze through, suggesting why some thrive in an oasis of animal worship, outdoor revelry and zero-to-hero popularity that forgives a nerdy rep back home.

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Bill Stamets

Chicago Sun-Times

08/24/2007

3/4

Unlike the intense cadets for Christ and creationism in the recent documentary Jesus Camp, the kids in the sweet Summercamp! have fun!

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Bill White

Seattle Post-Intelligencer

09/14/2007

C+

For those who enjoyed the camping experience as a youth, the movie, with its marshmallow roasts, canoe rides and talent shows, offers a bit of nostalgia. Others may find the whole thing a little pointless.

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Kevin Courrier

Boxoffice Magazine

08/30/2007

1/5

Summercamp is so haphazard it might as well be someone's digitally enhanced home movie.

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02/17/2013

a cute little doc following a Wisconsin summer camp & it's campers. innocent but enjoyable

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03/21/2012

A fine documentary that covers 3 weeks of children at a nature camp. It is a little too broad at times, keeping some kids too distant, but it's a great nostalgia trip into childhood.

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04/30/2009

An ok doc but pretty boring. We follow around a bunch of kids but there isn't enough screen time to really get to know these people. I would have rather seen this tackle the summer camp from the view of the counselors. <br/>It plays more like a commercial for the camp at times. It's ok to miss this one.

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03/20/2009

Never went away to summer camp so perhaps that's why it didn't connect with me? My perception of summer camp is a mixture of "Friday the 13th" and "Meatballs"... seriously!

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10/20/2008

Cute film albeit short with very little structure. Makes me feel like my films will do just as well. It is definitely adorable as the kids themselves are great in a "they say the darnedest things" way. Simply a charming film though with little to no conflict or arc.

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01/07/2008

best beesly docu...better than okie noodling...and way better than the flaming lips one...

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Bradley Beesley

Director

Sarah Price

Director

Devorah DeVries

Producer

Bradley Beesley

Producer

Sarah Price

Producer

JoLynn Garnes

Co-Producer

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Synopsis

Bradley Beesley and Sarah Price's documentary captures the experiences of a group of children over the course of their summer at the Swift Nature Camp in the woods of Wisconsin. Many of the kids have behavioral problems and are on medication for attention deficit disorders. At Swift, however, the focus of the counselors and kids on engaging in vigorous physical activity (horseback riding, kayaking, archery, swimming) and living harmoniously creates surprising results.

Director: Bradley Beesley, Sarah Price
Producer: Devorah DeVries, Bradley Beesley, Sarah Price
Production Co: Roadside Cinema
Genre: Documentary
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 25, 2018
Runtime: 1h 24m