LOGLINE
A documentary focusing on an overnight camp for children with congenital heart conditions and the soul, love, and community that shapes it.
SYNOPSIS
1 in 100 babies are born with a congenital heart condition. This student-made feature documentary follows the lives of campers at Dr. Bill Neches’ Heart Camp for Kids, a camp for children with congenital heart disease (CHD) located in Western Pennsylvania. Over the span of 3 years of camp, we learn about the journeys of the campers, staff, and the director and her experience living with CHD.
ARTISTIC STATEMENT
Heart Camp has been an important part of my life for the last 14 years. It is the place I am most myself. I know I can come to camp, see my best friends, reflect on my own life and journey, help inspire the next generation of CHD patients, and be in my second home for an entire week. Heart Camp is a magical place for children with chronic illnesses, and I wouldn’t have the confidence I have today without it. The campers are the most remarkable kids I’ve ever met, and I want their strength and perseverance to be recognized. That being said, this documentary idea was spurred by death. When I was 14, a counselor passed away from medical complications, and it was the first time I truly understood that we were living with fatal conditions. Losing my innocence and replacing it with the harsh reality of medical complications, more surgeries, transplant rejection, and death was something that completely altered my perspective on why Heart Camp is so important. In 2022, I lost a good friend to heart rejection and other medical complications. He was freshly 18, and he never got to graduate high school. I’m still grieving his death, and I think I always will. In a way, this documentary is a way for me to come to terms with the loss our camp has and will endure while also celebrating the lives of those we’ve lost and the lives that surround us. I’ve wanted to make this film for seven years, and I know that now is the time to do it. Although Heart Camp is run by medical staff from UPMC, the hospital does not fund the camp, and it relies solely on investors, fundraising, donations, and partnerships. My family never had to pay for me to attend camp, and neither has any other camper. We have noticed a large decrease in campers joining and returning to Heart Camp, most likely caused by the pandemic. In the more recent years, Heart Camp has had trouble with funding, to the point where we had too many campers and not enough money. My friends and I have been helplessly watching our camp lose money, not being able to provide spots for campers, and losing campers each year. Awareness is such an important thing, and if I can bring awareness to this rare, magical place and these rare, strong, wonderful people through my passion for filmmaking, then I know I am doing what I was put on Earth to do. I believe in this film relentlessly, and I believe that I can make a difference and bring more patients to camp. If we happen to have financial success with this film when it is distributed, I want to give back to the camp that gave me my life.
KEY CREW
Lindsey Hecker - Director/Producer
Lindsey Hecker is a 21 year-old RIT film production major. She desires to specialize in directing, assistant directing, producing, screenwriting, and production design. She was born with a congenital heart condition and has been going to Heart Camp since she was 8 years old. Now that she is an adult, she wants to share the story of Heart Camp through her love of filmmaking and media.
Alex Coleman - Director of Photography
Alex Coleman is a 21-year-old RIT film production major. She desires to specialize in screenwriting, cinematography, camera operation, and gaffing/lighting. As a queer black disabled woman, she desires to tell stories that expand representation and diversity in media, which is why she wants to tell the story of Heart Camp through film.
Carson Munn - Associate Producer
Carson Munn is a 20 year-old RIT film production major. He desires to specialize in post-production, assistant directing, and producing. As a hard-of-hearing person and an NTID student, Carson wants to educate people about what it's like to live with certain medical conditions through the art of film, with a focus in visual art.
Jax Self - Sound Collection/Head Post-sound Mixer
Jax Self is a 20 year-old RIT film production major. They desire to specialize in on-set sound mixing, boom operation, and post-sound mixing and design. Jax desires to tell stories from all walks of life through the art of sound, and "1 in 100" is no different.
Scout Brandes - Boom Operator/Head Composer
Scout Brandes is a 19 year-old RIT film production major. She desires to specialize in on-set sound mixing, boom operation, post-sound mixing and design, and composing, mixing, and performing music. Scout is a musician at heart and loves all genres. She is excited to work on "1 in 100" to create music and soundscapes in post-production to bring the story of Heart Camp to life.
Mabelen Bonifacio - Head Editor
Mabelen Bonifacio is a 20 year-old RIT film production major. She desires to specialize in post-production/editing, but she has on-set experience as an art director and 2nd AC. Mabelen has been editing throughout her high school and college career, and she is ecstatic to work with Lindsey and the editing team to weave together a film that displays the essence of Heart Camp and the strong CHD patients that make camp special.
ACCOLADES
The The Gotham Film & Media Institute fosters the development, production and promotion of hundreds of feature and documentary films a year. Learn more about us or become a member
