International documentary film festival
March 30 - April 6, 2025
Kaptol Boutique Cinema, Zagreb

Happy Campers (Happy Campers)

Amy Nicholson

Happy Campers

In a waterfront campground off the coast of Virginia, residents spend their summers living spitting distance apart in rust-bitten RVs. They chuckle about paying modest rent for a million-dollar location, but what makes them the luckiest people in the world is more than just stunning sunsets. Beneath a few trailer park stereotypes lies an unlikely utopia where neighbors help each other out and share whatever they have. Loneliness and isolation are inconceivable. Sadly, their affordable paradise has been sold. The residents brace for eviction and the loss of relationships that span generations. As the familiar narrative of displacement plays out once again, they hold tight to their final days in the sun. The more affluent crowd that takes their place will never be as wealthy.

USA 2023, '78

DIRECTOR: Amy Nicholson

SCENARIO: Amy Nicholson

CAMERA: Amy Nicholson

MONTAGE: John Young, Laura Israel

MUSIC: Try Herion, JR Narrows

PRODUCERS: Amy Nicholson

PRODUCTION: Myrtle & Olive

FESTIVALS & AWARDS:

DOC NYC: Special Jury Mention (2023)
Big Sky Doc Fest (2024)

Amy Nicholson

Amy Nicholson

Amy Nicholson is a New York-based filmmaker and commercial director whose projects often explore the essence of Americana with a humorous eye and a warm respect for her subjects. Nicholson’s most recent documentary, a short titled Pickle, won multiple audience awards, was selected for The New York Times’ Op Docs, and was featured on the Criterion Collection alongside Errol Morris’ Gates of Heaven. Pickle was also nominated for an IDA Award and Cinema Eye Honors. Nicholson has produced and directed several features. Zipper: Coney Island’s Last Wild Ride won the Special Jury Prize at DOCNYC. Muskrat Lovely premiered at the Hamptons International Film Festival and was broadcast on Independent Lens. Nicholson’s films have screened at Hot Docs, Sheffield, Full Frame, DOK Leipzig, BFI London, Camden, Traverse City, Rooftop Films, and the MoMA. They have been reviewed by Variety, Indiewire, The Hollywood Reporter, The Wall Street Journal, and The New York Times.

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