The 2025 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 Really Good Rich Guy” by Iris Lau, Mabel Forkner, Julia Rosen, and Jazmine Harrison
In this comedic retelling of The Great Gatsby, the characters of the American classic are transported to a modern day reality TV show produced by the fictional American Dream Corp. When a murder happens “Rosie Banana” has to try to cover it up while navigating a love triangle with her husband “Tod Banana” and her crush “Gay Jatsby”– who may or may not be hooking up with “Dickie Carried-Away”.
“Money Hit” by Henry Lomma, Sebastian Gurski-Cornell, Adrian Li, and Theo Scoblic
A mysterious murderer is hired to kill everyone referencing the “six seven” internet meme, and as a result goes on a journey where he faces off against different characters and ultimately emerges victorious. This hilarious flick is full of classic movie references to The Princess Bride, Die Hard, and more.
“Dessert Discord” by Camila Stolz, Benjamin Ruben, and Rose Eisner
In this spoof on a baking show, contestants “George Jr.”, “George Sr.”, and “Georgina” compete to win one million dollars. With the theme of sea animals, the three contestants create unconventional recipes in order to win!
“Memory Lane” by Maxwell Lally and Julia Barney
Two ex-best friends, Alex and Bea, go on a hike, get lost, and end up going down memory lane–literally. They see scenes of their friendship over the years, and are forced to come face to face with their mistakes, grapple with their regrets, and explore being lost, both literally and emotionally. Complex shots, angles, and cinematography bring emotional character arcs and expressive acting into the spotlight.
“The Directors” by Owen Berland
Hilarious and witty, The Director is a comedy about the people who run WriCampia. It simultaneously makes fun of the chaos of camp and is wholesome and nostalgic, reminding us of what we love about camp. The movie starred Maxwell and featured Raif K., Seb G., film track lead Will, and Julia B., and had the audience laughing the whole time.
“Wricampia Days” by Neva Almeida-Oliver and Umechi Born
This beautiful and well-done documentary compiles interviews with campers and staff, as well as digital camera footage of scenery to explore why the camp community loves camp so much. The filmmaking duo filmed campers/staff (including us two writers!) answering three questions: What does camp mean to you? What’s one word you would use to describe WriCampia? What does WriCampia mean to you? They sought to capture the magic that makes camp such a special and dear place for almost everyone who goes here. “It’s not something you find everywhere,” they shared.
“Duality” by Mia Bornstein and Phoebe Stearns
This avant-garde film stars both Mia and Phoebe as different sides of the same person. It seeks to explore the duality of man, or how one person can have multiple sides to them. The film uses creative and often abstract cinematography to carry the theme across, and is shot in a big field and in a creek.
“Dinner Drama: the Reunion” by Maya Ruben, Tilly Magaldi, Stella Magaldi, and Sofia Stolz
In this hilarious sequel to last summer’s Dinner Drama, the same characters you know and love return with more drama, more laughs, and even more complexity. “It’s like the Office meets The Kardashians,” the writers shared. With each scene, intrigue, excitement, and drama build, and you need to know what happens next. Awkward comedy, reality TV, and soap opera intersect to create WriCampia’s best source of drama.
“The Bill Grim Project” by Ray Fitterman, Rory Filton, Eleanora Weinheimer, and Sandy Stearn
Characters with big, funny, personalities, from frat guys to sorority sisters, embark on a journey for love and a hunt for ghosts simultaneously. What begins as a hilarious reality TV show featuring brainrotted college students seeking huzz and a ghost named Bill Grim ends with jumpscares and horror. Full of twists, turns, laughs, and screams, The Bill Grim Project combines funny and scary.
“The Twitter Ban” by Joan Bishop and Raif Kendrick
This political satire film follows a man on a mission to put parental controls on Donald Trump’s phone to ban him from twitter. Extremely funny, timely, and exciting, the characters must get through obstacles like Elon Musk and Trump supporters before they ultimately succeed at putting Twitter controls on Trump’s phone. If only it were based on true events.
“A Walk in the Forest” by Rei Geiro and Adriana Gonzalez
This exciting, action-packed horror-comedy film follows a civilian on his journey to find his pet snake. He encounters many obstacles such as being chased by werewolf, being chased by a ghost, and then being killed by the ghost. The ghost takes over the story, facing obstacles such as the werewolf (again!) and an old man. The old man ends up victorious. It features Rohan R. and Finn S.
“Robber Chronicles” by Rohan Rao-Ferandez and Finn Snow
Your favorite quartet is back at it again: Robber Chronicles features Rei G. and Adriana G.! A robber has a plan to rob a bank, but his plan is thrown askew when the police are called. The film ends with a twist: the sidekick takes the initially stolen money!
“Look, I Didn’t Want to Be a Farmer” by Rei Geiro and Adriana Gonzalez
This creative film follows a tug between two farmers, one of whom wants to save the pigs of the farm, choosing their life and importance, the other who wants to kill the pigs. It also consists of quotes from four different popular books, exploring the intersection of pop culture, film, and adventure-thrill.
“Bunk Graffiti” by Paige McClusky
Bunk Graffiti is a nostalgic window into the life of senior campers. It seeks to capture the smaller moments–connecting with other CITs, working closely with counselors–rather than “getting caught up in what my last year of camp ought to be.” Many tears were shed as seniors reflected on their time at camp over the years, and especially over these last two weeks. Paige’s polaroid pics and clips of bunk graffiti (seniors making their Sharpie mark) made sure no eyes were left dry.
The Infomercials by Maxwell Lally and Julia Barney
This year, the Film track decided that having commercial breaks would provide some comedic relief between films. The ultimate film duo, Julia and Max set out to make five different infomercials to break up the films: one advertising bunk insurance, another selling medicine to help writers block, yet another featuring camp trivia, a golf cart salesman commercial and a music video for Wilson’s song about Bardathon that helps with songwriting.
“Escape Room” by Jo Wallace-Segall and Dea Behrami
Jo and Dea began by setting up an escape room, complete with puzzles, video games, and hidden keys, for five of their reluctant, hilarious friends to complete. The film captures their friends sarcasm and struggle to escape the room. Several hints and curses later, the friends manage to escape! ✎
Neva and Umechi filming a clip for “Wricampia Days”.
Behind the scenes of “The Twitter Ban” with Joan, Owen, Raif, and Jake.
Editing, editing, editing!
Max behind the camera filming an opening scene for “Memory Lane” by him and Julia.
Paige and Mia filming “Duality” in the soccer field.
Counselor Sasha and Jazmine filming.
