Film Treatment
The word
“cancer” ignites fear within us all. It means watching loved ones suffer, or
being at the mercy of the disease oneself. Cancer means dreams deferred until modern
medicine powers us through.
Which, so often today, it does.
We all think we know what “cancer” means. But today’s world begs and equally important, often neglected question: What does survival mean? What comes after cancer? How does a person pick up the threads of an old life after months, or even years, of treatment? What if that person is a child, with no threads to pick up? How does that person begin to build a “normal” life?
Today, one in a hundred college students is a childhood cancer survivor. Yes, let that sink in… one in one hundred. How have the individuals in this quickly growing population learned to incorporate survivorship into their lives? How have they accepted this label? How have they rejected it? What does it mean to be a childhood cancer survivor today?
Cancer Sucks, but I Heart Camp tells the story of five long-term childhood cancer survivors of varying ages as they work to create meaning from the difficult experiences they've faced. Revolving around a summer camp for children with cancer in southern Wisconsin, the interweaving stories of these five and dozens of other survivors will help us to examine how individuals choose (or choose not) to incorporate survivorship into their professional lives and their personal identities.
The film will be told through a traditional narrative structure entwined with the creative work of the survivors involved. Their animations, paintings, music and poetry will serve to communicate how cancer has impacted their unique perspectives on life. Using their work and the magic of film we’ll attempt to depict life as only one who has faced death can see it; we’ll then contrast that picture with the harsh realities of survivorship.
I Heart Camp tells the story of how survivors choose to give meaning to their experiences. As either volunteers or participants, all five of the film’s main characters will be attending Camp One Step at a Time's 33rd annual summer camp this June. For these five, One Step is the only place in the world where they get to be normal – where everyone is a survivor. For other survivors, organizations like One Step serve only as a reminder of a painful past.
What is it that separates those who love camp from those who hide from associations with survivorship? Along with late-effects and lifelong disabilities, many of survivors struggle with issues of identity formation and guilt in their lives after cancer. How do these factors play into their perceptions of what it means to be a survivor? I Heart Camp will explore aspects of survivorship from fearful instances of self-doubt to awe-inspiring moments of triumph. By the end of this journey, I hope we'll find that, as survivors, cancer doesn't have to define our lives... but it can always enrich them.
Which, so often today, it does.
We all think we know what “cancer” means. But today’s world begs and equally important, often neglected question: What does survival mean? What comes after cancer? How does a person pick up the threads of an old life after months, or even years, of treatment? What if that person is a child, with no threads to pick up? How does that person begin to build a “normal” life?
Today, one in a hundred college students is a childhood cancer survivor. Yes, let that sink in… one in one hundred. How have the individuals in this quickly growing population learned to incorporate survivorship into their lives? How have they accepted this label? How have they rejected it? What does it mean to be a childhood cancer survivor today?
Cancer Sucks, but I Heart Camp tells the story of five long-term childhood cancer survivors of varying ages as they work to create meaning from the difficult experiences they've faced. Revolving around a summer camp for children with cancer in southern Wisconsin, the interweaving stories of these five and dozens of other survivors will help us to examine how individuals choose (or choose not) to incorporate survivorship into their professional lives and their personal identities.
The film will be told through a traditional narrative structure entwined with the creative work of the survivors involved. Their animations, paintings, music and poetry will serve to communicate how cancer has impacted their unique perspectives on life. Using their work and the magic of film we’ll attempt to depict life as only one who has faced death can see it; we’ll then contrast that picture with the harsh realities of survivorship.
I Heart Camp tells the story of how survivors choose to give meaning to their experiences. As either volunteers or participants, all five of the film’s main characters will be attending Camp One Step at a Time's 33rd annual summer camp this June. For these five, One Step is the only place in the world where they get to be normal – where everyone is a survivor. For other survivors, organizations like One Step serve only as a reminder of a painful past.
What is it that separates those who love camp from those who hide from associations with survivorship? Along with late-effects and lifelong disabilities, many of survivors struggle with issues of identity formation and guilt in their lives after cancer. How do these factors play into their perceptions of what it means to be a survivor? I Heart Camp will explore aspects of survivorship from fearful instances of self-doubt to awe-inspiring moments of triumph. By the end of this journey, I hope we'll find that, as survivors, cancer doesn't have to define our lives... but it can always enrich them.
The Impact: Why This Film Needs To Be Made
Cancer is a terrible disease that claims many lives every year, but survivorship is increasing at an unprecedented rate. As a result, a community of survivors is forming with a new set of problems. I Heart Camp will examine some of these issues and how survivors are dealing with them. The most prominent issue the film will explore, however, is that of identity formation.
A closer look at the cancer survivor’s experience provides insight into how we all incorporate the past into our everyday representations of self. Cancer survivors or not, everyone faces challenges that affect identity formation later in life.
Childhood cancer survivors provide a unique example of how we as individuals possess the ability to choose how our experiences define us. As this population of young survivors grows, it is important for them to know that this choice exists; they have more freedom to sculpt their identities than they might think. I Heart Camp will help survivors understand that, in this important life decision, there is no wrong answer.
A closer look at the cancer survivor’s experience provides insight into how we all incorporate the past into our everyday representations of self. Cancer survivors or not, everyone faces challenges that affect identity formation later in life.
Childhood cancer survivors provide a unique example of how we as individuals possess the ability to choose how our experiences define us. As this population of young survivors grows, it is important for them to know that this choice exists; they have more freedom to sculpt their identities than they might think. I Heart Camp will help survivors understand that, in this important life decision, there is no wrong answer.
Format and Distribution
The film will be shot in full HD and will be
exhibited via the film festival circuit.
