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USA, 70 Minute Running Time Genre/Subjects: Coming of Age, Documentary, Family Friendly, Social Issues, Sports, Teen FlickLanguage: English
DIRECTOR: Louis Lapat Producer: Louis LapatEditor: Louis LapatScreenwriter: Louis LapatCinematographer: Louis Lapat
In this nonfiction coming-of-age story, Louis Lapat, a self-professed misfit, looks at the life lessons learned at summer camp. Through a series of humorous animated “letters” home, Lapat recounts how his own far-from-bucolic days at Wisconsin’s Camp Ojibwa for Jewish boys (the inspiration for comedian Alan Sherman’s 1963 novelty hit “Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh”) unfolded in awkward moments, from finding a bunkmate to navigating Collegiate Week – the epic end-of-summer tournament one participant describes as being equal in importance to the Super Bowl. Interviews with campers, coaches, and administrators reveal that the pressures of Collegiate Week are felt campwide, as the quest for personal greatness becomes a frustration to some, an obsession for others. Winning is paramount – yet losing is what the majority of these young would-be athletes experience. Lapat chronicles every moment of Collegiate Week, from the assignment of coaches to the all-important draft lottery to the actual competition in events ranging from shuffleboard to Stunt Night. Throughout it all, the insecurities of Lapat’s subjects resonate, whether he turns his sympathetic lens on unpopular Adam Korn, a repeat loser finally picked to coach; Andrew Robinson, determined to beat a camp curse; or even cynical camper Joel, who dismisses trophies as “just [pieces] of plastic.” As an inquiry into the psychology of losing, Win or Lose reminds us that in the transition to adulthood, sporting events are serious – yet sometimes painfully funny – business. In cooperation with Denver Jewish Film Festival/Mizel Arts & Culture Center and Spring International Language Center