By Maxanne Wallace-Segall, age 15 and Thúy Holder-Vinh, age 15
The 2024 WriCampia Film Festival comprised a set of films that had the crowd laughing, screaming in terror, and nearly crying. Campers in filmmaking worked hard to plan, write scripts, cast, direct, act, film, and eventually edit each and every scene of their original films–every second of work evident. Here’s each strikingly unique film:
“The Effects!” By Milo Miller
Despite facing hardships and challenges, Milo Miller was able to put together a hilarious and masterfully filmed trailer for a movie that, as the trailer emphasizes, will never go to theaters anywhere near anyone. The movie features a camper who brings prohibited substances to camp and faces the realistic and detrimental consequences. The movie stars the Karmic rock, Paige McClusky, Will Bond, and Phoebe Stearns.
“Mimic” by Elise Magnelle, Gabe Horowitz, Julia Rosen, Oscar Manigan
Mimic is an almost-silent horror film taking place in a ballet studio. Starring Julia Rosen, a haunted ballet dancer, and Elise Magnell, an evil or ghost-like ballet dancer. Genuinely terrifying and filled with intense emotion, “Mimic” combines incredible Britney-dance moves, psychological terror, and straight-up creepiness.
“WriCampia!” By Owen Berland
WriCampia! is a mockumentary featuring the various electives and tracks of camps. Accurate and funny, every camper felt called out and seen as they watched Owen’s creative and comedic take on each track. The Yearly (or Daily) WriCampian got a shout-out, too!
“The (Baby) Bear” by Maxwell Lally, Julia Barney
In “The (Baby) Bear,” a dramedy parody of “The Bear” by Maxwell Lally and Julia Barney, a group of friends try to create a film at WriCampia, but their efforts are slowed by interpersonal problems within the group. With artistic and well-crafted shots, this film does what the characters in their film could not.
“The Makeup Bag” By Max Wanderer, Moon Emigli
“The Makeup Bag” By Max Wanderer and Moon Emigli is the story of two girls, who Max and Moon play as themselves, going on an adventure to find a missing makeup bag, bonding with their bunk as the movie unfolds as it’s their final year at WriCampia. Touching and funny, “The Makeup Bag” is a tribute to WriCampia’s seniors.
“A Coup for Two” by Seb Gurski-Corniel, Henry Lomma, Rohan Tatlow
“A Coup for Two” is about two power- and money- hungry generals who seek to kill their king; little did they know, their king knew how to fight. The end is a dramatic test of strength between the generals and the king.
“Dinner Drama” By Sofia Stolz, Maya Ruben, Stella and Matilda Magaldi, Louisa Rosenblatt
Dinner Drama is a “low-budget” mockumentary in which two families at a dinner start with certain relationships and end in totally different ones. It’s comedic, timeless, creative, and self-described as “Kardashians meets The Office, with a dash of Only Murders in the Building.”
“What Would You Do for Love?” By Bryce Moraceburg, Izzy Ardizonni, Hugh Vickory, Gwen Reusing
This dating show features eight different archetypes of characters who must compete in various games and competitions. Increasingly dark as the show goes on, with the exception of one character, all characters die. With amazing editing and perfected typecasting, this reality TV show had everyone cackling.
“Zombie Busters” by Mira Sylvan, Nina Franks, Ella Morris, Anna Kaplan, Esperanza Grant
“Zombie Busters” is a horror/comedy about a group of kids whose job is to kill zombies, Ghostbusters style. In the movie, one of the groups starts turning into a zombie, and the group finds a notebook on how to kill zombies for good. At the end, they kill most of the zombies, including their friend, who comes back to life, finishing the movie on a cliffhanger.
“Aur Naur Cleor” Maya Ruben, Stella Magaldi, Louisa Rosenblat
In this one-minute short deeply inspired by the Netflix show, Mako Mermaids, a gym teacher spills water on two cross-country runners, and they turn into mermaids; of course, like in Mako Mermaids, they’re all Australian.
“A Very Straight Forward Documentary” by Paige McClusky
There’s not much that’s straight forward in “A Very Straight Forward Documentary”; what appears as a hilarious video filming various people in the wild, like a homosexual, a straight girl, and a straight boy, in their respective ‘natural habitats,’ turns out to be commentary on how regardless of ‘habitat,’ or sexuality, nature gets its way. This documentary teaches that straight or not, we’re all potential victims of natural selection.
“Killer Cycle” by Lila Melinger, Evie Fox, Kenley Slutman
In this plot twist-filled horror movie, a woman investigates the murder of someone who looks identical to her. Eerie, creepy, and psychologically twisted, this movie follows the protagonist around, up until she, too, is murdered.
“Don’t Touch Grass” by Ashton Woo, Finn Snow, Cami Stolz, Colleen Stern
“Don’t Touch Grass” stars a kid who truly ‘doesn’t touch grass,’ never leaves the house, never goes to school. After his twin brother tells his mother about his school-skipping, he’s sent to sleepaway camp. After many dramatic fight scenes, the original kid murders his twin out of spite. This movie is action-packed, silly, and absurd.
“The Killer in the Cabins” by June Booth, Madeline Garrett, Nomi Baker
A horror movie taking place at WriCampia, “The Killer in the Cabins” is the chilling tale of a murderer who has been killing kids at camp for the past three years. Three friends, Jessica, Hailey, and Olive, are filming in the park when it gets dark and creepy. Jessica and Hailey opt to head back to their cabin, but Olive ditches them to keep filming. In the morning, they find that Olive has disappeared. What follows is a thrilling search for her, and the movie ends by revealing the killer, Joey, was filming the whole time…
“Murder… A La Mode” the Filmmaking Track
The Filmmaking Track ended WriCampia, films finished, with a hilarious, one-take film. Joey spun a wheel and landed on a comedy mystery, and they all got in costume as they murdered one another.
“Portrait of Pluto” by Mia Bornstein
This abstract, beautifully crafted film was written, directed, acted, and edited by Mia alone. It’s existential, abstract, and with stunning, short clips of dancing, thoughts, and running edited smoothly together. A stunning end to the film festival, “Portrait of Pluto” had all WriCampians questioning existence and identity.
