Fantastic Fest Winner Camp Opens in U.S. Theaters June 26

Emily searches for healing at a summer camp where friendship, grief, and strange forces collide in Camp.

Award-Winning Queer Horror Film Camp Opens in U.S. Theaters June 26

Dark Sky Films is bringing Avalon Fast's acclaimed coming-of-age horror feature Camp to select U.S. theaters beginning June 26, following a successful festival run that included a Best Feature win at Fantastic Fest.

Written and directed by Fast, whose previous work includes Honeycomb and Drinking and Driving, the film will open at New York City's IFC Center and Los Angeles' Laemmle Glendale, with Fast scheduled to attend opening weekend screenings in New York.

Ahead of its official release, Camp will also host special sneak preview screenings at the IFC Center on June 24 and June 25.

The story follows Emily, a young woman burdened by guilt after two devastating tragedies early in her life. Hoping to move forward, she accepts a position as a counselor at a summer camp for troubled youth at the suggestion of her father.

Upon arriving, Emily finds herself welcomed by a group of counselors who offer acceptance, friendship, and a sense of belonging. For the first time in years, she begins to imagine a future free from the weight of her past.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qctnEcM5TkI

That fragile peace is disrupted when Emily starts hearing a mysterious voice calling to her from deep within the surrounding woods. As the whispers grow louder, she finds herself drawn toward forces she cannot fully understand and a past she may not be able to escape.

Blending psychological horror, coming-of-age drama, and supernatural elements, Camp explores themes of grief, identity, friendship, and personal transformation.

The film stars Zola Grimmer in her screen debut alongside Alice Wordsworth, Cherry Moore, Lea Rose Sebastianis (Castration Movie Part 1 & 2, In a Violent Nature), Ella Reece, Austyn Van de Kamp (This Too Shall Pass), Sophie Bawks-Smith (Honeycomb), Izza Jarvis, and Aiden Laudersmith.

The film first premiered at Fantastic Fest, where it won the Next Wave Best Feature Award. Since then, it has continued its festival run with selections at the Seattle International Film Festival, OutfestNEXT, Frameline, TIFF Next Wave, and Beyond Fest.

Cinematographer Eily Sprungman captures the film's dreamlike atmosphere through striking natural imagery and surreal visual storytelling. The result is a horror film that leans heavily into mood, emotion, and the unsettling uncertainties of adolescence.

Fast has described her evolving body of work as "Girl Horror," a style focused on the strange and often unsettling realities of growing up through a distinctly female perspective. Drawing from personal experiences, Camp continues that exploration while weaving together themes of witchcraft, trauma, and female friendship.

The film is produced by Taylor Nodrick, Jacob Glickman, Jackie De Niverville, Martin Cadieux-Rouillard, and Maya Cadieux-Rouillard. Executive producers include Paul Cadieux, Milan Chakraborty, Peter Kuplowsky, Michael Peterson, and Sanjay M. Sharma.

Following its Canadian release through Filmoption International on June 19, Camp arrives in select U.S. theaters on June 26.