Jacob Medjuck Returns to Summer Camp with 'Summerhood'

What would you do if you stumbled across your camp diary from when you were 10? You’d probably read it, or maybe even share it with your buddies. Jacob Medjuck took things a step further. When the Canadian filmmaker came across his diary of his days at Camp Kadimah, he decided to turn those memories into a feature film.

Medjuck chats with Shalom Life about his celebrated debut, Summerhood, now playing at AMC Yonge and Dundas until Nov. 25. Part of the movie’s proceeds go to local charities.

You’ve been working in animation for years. What drew you to live action?

Animating was a dream I had since childhood. But I always wanted to direct live action too. All my life I thought there was a difference. For years I thought I'd have to choose one or the other. And then I realized... a script doesn't care if it's animated or live action. A script only cares about story, and character. Animation taught me all sorts of tricks to tell a story visually. Cinematography, framing. Moving into live action was a thrill. It's all the same tools... but you need to use them faster. (And of course it's great to be able to interact with a film crew, in animation one can disappear behind a pencil for weeks!!).

What do you miss most about camp and what could you do without?

I miss the pace of discovery. Every day was a "first." First kiss. First dance. First friends. I miss the kind of friendship I had growing up. We were like brothers in arms, war. We'd do anything for each other. Being grown-up is empowering. I'm less nervous. Far more confident. But so much now is about being practical, right? Whereas camp was a minute by minute adventure! I miss that. I don't miss the mosquitoes. Mosquitoes thought I was delicious...

You’ve screened the movie at festivals around the world. Why do you think it strikes a chord with people?

Authenticity. That's 100 per cent the reason. We played in Italy, subtitled - no one could understand English. And you can see from this video that it was a great show. Everyone was 10 years old at one point. And we all share the tension and traumas of hope and heartache. I love that. It unifies. Either you were 10, or you are 10. And it connects. (...and of course the music rocks.)

Fetus is quite the character. How long did it take to cast for the role?

Fetus was hard to find. His character is the story of my life, literally. So it was personal to me to find an actor who would entertain and make me seem like less of a knob at that age. I also wanted to make sure we could find a kid who could carry a film - and after thousands of auditions, we found him in Brooklyn. Lucian Maisel was nine or 10 and doing stand-up in New York. He blew us away. He made the film his own... what a performance.

What was it like filming at your camp?

If you ever get to write a movie about your childhood and film it the summer camp you grew up at... I highly recommend it! What a rush of nostalgia. It made the whole shoot more meaningful. (and Kosher, thanks Camp Kadimah). We shot the kissing scenes where they actually took place, the whole movie is special to me. I'm touched that it means so much to people who've never even been to camp. I think maybe it fulfills that missing memory. It's like we all were there.

Have any of your camp friends seen the movie? What did they think?

Hey guys! Remember that time we zippered up in sleeping bags and punched each other for hours... I made a movie about it. Yeah, they loved it. So many of them are honoured onscreen. Auditioning people to play your friends is hilarious. I got lucky - my friends are fascinating creatures that had to be captured on film. Everyone says it of their own friends.. but you'll be shocked to find out how true it is here. I even took the girl I wrote the movie about to see it. This 20 year old memory of her that summer shaped my life!!... and she forgot she'd even been to camp?!! Wow. Oh well, you never can tell what moments are landmarks for you, and pebbles for others. But it doesn't matter, we all come out the other end as people, with great and different stories to share!

Is it true that you stepped in last minute to play Careless?

I secretly think the trick to writing a good film is to write every part for yourself, this way you give all the characters good lines. To finance the film however, we needed a name actor for Careless. But when we were days from shooting and no one major had come onboard... we just needed someone. Someone preferably who knew the lines. And that quickly became me. I had loved being in school plays and camp plays - But jumping onto the movie was a ridiculous idea at the time. I had full time job producing, financing, directing and re-writing the movie each day, we should not have added more to it - but we were also in the woods with limited time. We even auditioned some of the crew for parts, and they're in the movie too! In the end I just sat back and directed the kids from inside the scene - and by doing my work as director instead, just listening and watching them while the camera rolled - I finally discovered something about my own acting that eluded me for years when I was failing at over 100 auditions.... don't try so hard. Just listen and react, naturally. Sounds like basic stuff, but I was the last to find out.

How did you get John Cusack on board?

It took almost two years. I tried his agents, his friends, everyone. But couldn't get through. In the end, I shot the film, and in a risky move, we even hired an actor who looked like him at 10 to be our lead. I really wanted Cusack. And then I got footage of the film to the producers of Sideways. They liked it and they called Cusack's agent to say the film was good. And hours later we were negotiating. Thank goodness...

What’s next for you?

I just sold two animated scripts to the execs behind Ice Age. And I have another live action script I'm polishing. Is there a part in there for me..? That would be great. I would like that. I still can't finance a film on my own name though, so maybe we'll see what happens at the last minute again... at least I'll already know the lines.

Enjoy Summerhood everyone! And thank you for seeing it in theaters!