Jen Markowitz is a Canadian film and television director and producer, whose feature documentary film debut Summer Qamp was released in 2023. [1]
Markowitz previously worked in documentary and reality television, including on the series Vice Canada Reports , Canada's Drag Race , and Call Me Mother . [1]
Markowitz is a three-time Canadian Screen Award winner for their work on Canada's Drag Race, winning Best Writing in a Lifestyle or Reality/Competition Program or Series at the 9th Canadian Screen Awards in 2021 for the episode "Welcome to the Family", [2] and Best Reality/Competition Series both at the 9th Canadian Screen Awards at the 10th Canadian Screen Awards in 2022 as a producer of the series. [3]
Markowitz made their feature film directing debut with Summer Qamp , a documentary which profiles Camp fYrefly, a summer camp program in Alberta that provides a safe space for LGBTQ youth. [4] According to Markowitz, "it’s important to show the public at large that this is a community of regular kids with regular kid problems. They are all regular kids at heart, they just happened to be really weighed down by a lot of this other stuff that is put on to them by the world." [5] The project was first announced as a documentary television series in 2021, [6] and was later revised into a feature documentary film. [4]
The film premiered at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival. [7] At TIFF, the film was named first runner-up for the People's Choice Award for Documentaries. [8] At the 2023 Calgary International Film Festival, the film received a special jury citation from the Best Canadian Feature Documentary award jury, [9] and was the winner of the Audience Choice award for best Canadian documentary. [10]
Markowitz identifies as non-binary and uses gender-neutral pronouns. [5]