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.
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]