Santa Camp
Theatrical release poster
Directed byNick Sweeney
Produced by
  • Stacey Reiss
  • Nick Sweeney
  • Joseph Purfield
CinematographyNoah Collier
Edited byLise Lavallée
Distributed byHBO Max
Release date
  • November 17, 2022 (2022-11-17)
Running time
1 hour 32 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Santa Camp is a 2022 documentary film about a training camp for people to learn the roles of Santa Claus, Mrs. Claus, and the elves, run by the New England Santa Society in New Hampshire.[1] The film focuses on the camp's efforts to address the lack of diversity in the portrayal of Santa, and follows three new trainees: a Black Santa, a transgender Santa, and a Santa with a disability. The film also explores the role of Mrs. Claus and the call for equal pay and billing for public appearances.[2] The film's world premiere was at the 2022 Doc NYC film festival.[3]

The documentary was released on November 17, 2022, on HBO Max.

Synopsis

Santa Camp is set at a training camp co-founded by Dan Greenleaf, and follows his efforts to diversify the traditional portrayal of Santa Claus. Greenleaf puts it this way: "A child wants somebody who looks like them. What's the problem?"[4] The film's director, Nick Sweeney, was attracted to the idea of documenting the Santa subculture.[5] The experiences of both the new trainees and the trainers of the camp itself are explored.[6]

The film focuses on the motivation of the new Santa recruits. The first recruit, Chris, was motivated to attend the camp after receiving hate mail attacking the Black Santa decorations he put up around his house in Arkansas. Chris cites the importance of representation in the film: "Representation is important to me because growing up, I didn't see it."[7] The movie highlights Chris reading and then burning the racist letter in a campfire in front of the other Santa recruits.[5] The film also focuses on Levi in his training to be a trans Santa. Levi cites the difference meeting a trans Santa would have had on him as a child: "I think I could have become my whole self sooner in life."[4] When Levi appears at an event as Trans Santa, the film captures the arrival of the Proud Boys and their protestations that Trans Santa is "destroying America".[5] Sweeney also documents the journey of Fin, who was born with spina bifida and uses an iPad to communicate. Greenleaf praised Fin, saying: "His enthusiasm and dedication to becoming Santa was obvious to all". By the end of the film, Fin appears as Santa in his town's annual Christmas parade.[8]

Santa Camp also explores the growing role of Mrs. Claus, and highlights concerns of her performers being "sidelined" or disregarded in comparison to Santa. The film showcases camp meetings for the Mrs. Claus performers, where the topic of equal pay for Mrs. Claus as a performer is discussed.[9]

Reception

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 100% based on 5 reviews.[10]

The Los Angeles Times found the movie to be "sometimes challenging and frequently moving".[11] Salon found the film to be heartwarming, citing its exploration into evolving traditions by saying: "Santa Camp is an example of people with good intentions and insular views realizing they needed to expand the way they view the world, and the world views the figure they represent."[12] Seven Days gave the film 4 out of 5 stars, appreciating Sweeney's attempt to document a "quirky subculture" while also "exploring broader American cultural conflicts".[8]

References

  1. ↑ Harris, Jackie; Ganley, Rick (December 20, 2022). "What makes a great Santa? A new documentary comes to New Hampshire to find out". nhpr.org. New Hampshire Public Radio. Retrieved July 15, 2023.
  2. ↑ "Max Original Documentary Film SANTA CAMP Debuts This November" (Press release). Santa Camp: Warner Bros. Discovery. October 13, 2022. Retrieved December 19, 2022.
  3. ↑ "Santa Camp". Doc NYC. Retrieved December 20, 2022.
  4. 1 2 Herbst, Diane (November 8, 2022). "Black and Trans Santas Get Candid About Being Bullied at Christmastime: 'You Can't Back Down'". People. Retrieved December 19, 2022.
  5. 1 2 3 Valentish, Jenny (December 9, 2022). "Why should Santa be white or cis? The camp where anyone can learn to be Father Christmas". The Guardian. Retrieved December 19, 2022.
  6. ↑ Hullender, Tatiana (November 28, 2022). "Santa Camp Cast Share Their Experiences During The HBO Max Documentary". Screen Rant. Retrieved December 20, 2022.
  7. ↑ Noel, Melissa (November 17, 2022). "Even Black Santa Can't Catch A Break From Racists In New HBO Doc". Essence. Retrieved December 19, 2022.
  8. 1 2 Pollak, Sally (November 16, 2022). "Barre Family Featured in HBO Max Documentary 'Santa Camp'". Seven Days. Retrieved December 21, 2022.
  9. ↑ Flynn, Shelia (November 17, 2022). "Santa camp: Inside the secretive, surreal resort that trains men to become Father Christmas". The Independent. Retrieved December 21, 2022.
  10. ↑ "Santa Camp". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved December 22, 2022.
  11. ↑ Murray, Noel (November 25, 2022). "Review: Christmas movies galore decorate streaming services". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 22, 2022.
  12. ↑ McFarland, Melanie (November 17, 2022). ""Santa Camp" breakout on embodying Black Santa: "It is definitely activism for me"". salon.com. Retrieved December 20, 2022.
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