Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution

In the early 1970s, teenagers with disabilities faced a future shaped by isolation, discrimination and institutionalization. Camp Jened, a ramshackle camp “for the handicapped” in the Catskills, exploded those confines. Jened was their freewheeling Utopia, a place with summertime sports, smoking and makeout sessions awaiting everyone, and campers felt fulfilled as human beings. Their bonds endured as they migrated West to Berkeley, California — a promised land for a growing and diverse disability community — where friends from Camp Jened realized that disruption and unity might secure life-changing accessibility for millions.

Co-directed by Emmy®-winning filmmaker Nicole Newnham and film mixer and former camper Jim LeBrecht, this joyous and exuberant documentary arrives the same year as the 30th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, at a time when the country’s largest minority group still battles daily for the freedom to exist. CRIP CAMP is executive produced by President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama; Tonia Davis and Priya Swaminathan; Oscar® nominee Howard Gertler (How to Survive a Plague) and Raymond Lifchez, Jonathan Logan and Patty Quillin; LeBrecht, Newnham and Sara Bolder produce.

Presented in partnership with Above & Beyond With U

Above & Beyond With U is a non-profit formed on the Northshore impacting all of Minnesota and beyond. Our mission is to work intentionally to increase awareness, inclusive practices, accessibility and belonging for anyone experiencing disability. We love Zeitgeist and its amazing commitment to great food, entertainment, and making our community and region stronger and better! We are excited to partner in bringing even more disability culture and community to the screen and spaces of Zeitgeist during the Disability Pride month and beyond.