Camp d’été

In Switzerland, the Scout Movement is not a nostalgic fantasy but a vibrant social reality. This bubbly documentary captures the communal cycle of activities during a 14-day camp for youth. No reality TV-style contrived scenes here, this is a moving, joyful glimpse into life-changing experiences.

Mateo Ybarra’s documentary takes us inside an extraordinary annual gathering: for a fortnight thousands of teenagers will live together within a makeshift village in a Swiss valley. Their activities embody the noble principles of Scouting: teamwork, discipline, acquisition of diverse skills, physical health… and above all, an idealism directed at raising young people’s awareness of ethical responsibility, over both themselves and their environment.

Focusing on a select group of participants, Camp d’été avoids the pitfalls and clichés one may expect: it does not contrive sensational intrigues of sex and violence, or seek individual ‘heroes’. Here, the experiences of community and collective work are primary. At a bubbly, briskly edited pace, Ybarra emphasises the daily routines of food preparation, exercise, group discussion and night-time singing around lamps and torches (because fires are forbidden). The culmination is the final ‘night of reflection’, where they must decide whether they will utter the Scout Promise in front of their peers. Camp d’été is a moving and joyful capturing of the intimacies of coming-of-age. 

– Adrian Martin

> Country of production: Switzerland, France

Trailer

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