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Project Filmmaker Statement:
I attended Harand Camp back in the mid-1960's and the experience of that place has stayed with me my entire life. It has been so hard to articulate in words because more than anything Harand Camp is a feeling. I attended a 50th year reunion where I saw hundreds of people just like me, of all ages, 20's through 60's, who still loved camp and what it meant in their lives, and thought "what an interesting subject for a documentary". What drove me forward was the absolute conviction that I needed to make this film; that in some way, all of my work experience and artistic sensibility has led me to this moment in my life and career.
-Cheryl Ross Mitchell
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Here are some of my reasons for doing this film:
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To capture an oral history of the legacy of Harand Camp |
Like so many great institutions there comes a time to preserve what was great about it for posterity. Sadly, 3 of the 4 founding family members of the camp are now deceased. Only Sulie remains. And Sulie is still an amazing teacher and performer and a compelling figure that children can and should learn from. She is of another era; a different generation, a style of performing that few people can really teach today and that is sadly disappearing from our culture. |
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To demonstrate the significance that Harand Camp has had on thousands of lives |
Harand was significant in my development and I know it has been for thousands of others. This year alone, there were children who came to camp to escape their world at home. For those few weeks, they gain something they don't get anywhere else in their lives and it lasts them not only throughout the year, but for the rest of their lives. There are so many stories past and present that demonstrate the many ways that Harand has changed lives and we will tell them. |
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To demonstrate the teaching model that has been successful for 50 years |
There are all sorts of new ideas about education. Our society and our school systems are continually searching for the best way to reach our young people. Harand Camp is able to reach children that others fail to reach. How do they do it? How can they take children with no theatrical training whatsoever and put them on a stage; have them singing, dancing and learning over 100 songs in less than 3 weeks? It's a miracle to see. It's also a miracle to see the pride in a child's face after this achievement. |
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To pay tribute and honor the Harand family for years of service to children |
The family has certainly not gotten rich from running a summer camp. Their values are firmly rooted in the socialist, humanist beliefs they were raised with, that people, culture, education mean more than money. They have never taken anything for themselves and yet they have given so much of their hearts, their love, and their home to every single person that ever crossed their doors. That deserves some recognition. |
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To demonstrate that human values are not lost in our modern culture |
I believe that this place, this little village, like Brigadoon, appears every summer for a few weeks and disappears again is perhaps salvation in this dangerous world. Children leave this place with a stronger sense of themselves in the world, with the knowledge that they can do things they couldn't do before, with a sense of social consciousness, with a life-line to a safe place that they know is always waiting for their return. |
Having spent the past few months back among the Harand family, I have found that more than ever, it is the time to do a film about these people and this place.
For me, it is profoundly moving that after all these years, they have taken me back into their lives and their hearts so completely and unconditionally. I thought that they would never grant me permission make this film since they had turned out so many more famous filmmakers. But true to form, the Harand family has once again placed their trust and belief in me and my talent just as they had when I was a child. Once again they have given me a belief in myself to make this film.
I believe that this film will have an appeal for any audience: anyone who likes kids, has kids, or is a kid, anyone who loves the American songbook, anyone who has found a place like this, and anyone who is searching for a place like this.
The children are extraordinary. And seeing the children performing Gershwin or Berlin is just priceless.
I believe that using musical theater numbers as a vehicle to tell the true story of the lives of these incredible sisters is unique to documentary film.
What I can't express in writing are the amazing people behind this project; not only the campers but the counselors, 24 wonderful young adults; a staff that have been with the camp for over 20 years; and the family that keeps the dream alive. |
Director Bio:
Cheryl Ross Mitchell
Executive Producer/Creative Director
Professional Profile:
Cheryl Ross Mitchell has been a successful producer/writer/director for over 20 years. She has worked on a wide range of projects for many Fortune 500 corporations.
Born and raised in Chicago, Cheryl began her professional life as an actress. After attending the conservatory acting program at Carnegie- Mellon University in Pittsburgh, one of 35 students selected from national auditions, Cheryl traveled to Minneapolis and began performing professionally. Her acting career brought her back to Chicago where she met magician, David Copperfield. With David, Cheryl began developing, writing and directing magic material for business theater for Caribiner, Inc. in New York City. She spent the next 2 years writing and performing with David Copperfield culminating in a television special in Los Angeles for ABC TV.
Cheryl began working as an assistant to the producer in television, specializing in variety programming. She worked for Alexander H. Cohen on the CBS 50th Anniversary specials, for Norman Lear & Mort Lachman on the 200th Episode Celebration of All in the Family, and for Pierre Cossette for a season and a half of the Sha Na Na television series.
In 1979 Cheryl returned to New York and to Caribiner, Inc. as a production coordinator. While at Caribiner she was responsible for the execution and delivery of all aspects of multi-image slide production and meetings.
In 1981 Cheryl co-founded Corporate Theater Company, Inc. specializing in all manner of business communications, meetings, trade shows, new product launches, video presentations, radio and TV commercials and live presentations. While operating her own business she was able to fine tune her creative skills, management skills, and production expertise. She wrote, produced and directed many projects for CBS/Ideal Toys, LJN Toys, United Media Enterprises (Snoopy and Garfield) and Metropolitan Life. Cheryl also wrote and produced the first radio spot for the Broadway musical," Les Miserables" which set TICKETRON records the day it aired. And she produced and directed an international television spot for "Les Miserables."
From 1988 through 1997, Cheryl was freelancing for many production companies in New York and in Washington, DC. In 1998 she relocated to Chicago where in addition to her freelance producing assignments, Cheryl has been able to return to acting in the theater; most notably the world premier of " Door to Door" by James Sherman at the Tony Award winning Victory Gardens Theater.
Cheryl has won many awards for her video work, from the NY Film Festival, the Chicago Film Festival, and the International Film and Video Festival.
This is Cheryl's first feature-length documentary film. |
Bio Creative Team:
Pat Mongoven: Co-Producer, DP, Editor
Pat founded Shoreline Productions in Chicago in 1987. Shoreline specializes in shooting and editing high-quality video productions for broadcast, commercial and corporate clients. He has worked extensively in cable, educational, and public broadcast television. He has freelanced as both a DP and an editor for all of the busiest production houses in Chicago and around the country.
Molly Przetycki: Associate Producer
Molly Przetycki has been producing entertainment and events for over nine years. A graduate of University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Business and a native of Minneapolis, MN, her career started in corporate meetings, events and film working with numerous fortune 500 companies, nationally and internationally. Clients have included Volvo, Canon, Target, Goldman Sachs and Tyco to name a few. Upon moving to New York in 2002, Molly produced and managed a series of 60 nationwide Chrysler sponsored events for Gen Art, a NYC based Entertainment Company showcasing up and coming artists, filmmakers and fashion designers. In addition, Molly is a consultant with filmBUZZ, a film research firm specializing in independent films and film festivals, as an industry liaison. Currently, Molly is a freelance producer in New York City and is in various stages of development on a number of independent film projects with New York and UK production companies |
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