Holy Camp! (Spanish: La llamada, lit. 'The Call') is a 2017 Spanish musical comedy film directed by Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo in their debut feature. It is the film adaptation of the musical play La llamada, which was also written and directed by Ambrossi and Calvo and ran for several seasons at Teatro Lara. Its cast is toplined by Macarena García, Anna Castillo, Belén Cuesta, and Gracia Olayo.
Contents
Plot
Sister Milagros and Mother Bernarda are two nuns in charge at the Catholic summer camp La Brújula in Segovia. Mother Bernarda is seeking to modernize and reach out to youth through music, while Sister Milagros is full of self doubt.
The main characters are María and Susana, two 17-year-old girls who are spending the summer at the camp which they have attended since they were little. They both love reggaeton and "Electro Latino" music; but God's apparitions to and calling of María begin to change all their lives.
Production
Adapted from the stage play La llamada, Calvo stated that the work stemmed from his wish to tell a "Lesbian love story set in a Christian camp".
The film was produced by Apache Films, Sábado Películas and Lo hacemos y ya vemos AIE and it had the participation of TVE and TV3.
The 'Alto del León' camp in the province of Segovia served to portray the fictional Christian 'Campamento La Brújula'.
Release
The film had its premiere on 26 September 2017 at the Cines Capitol in Madrid. It was also presented at the 65th San Sebastián International Film Festival on 28 September 2017 ahead of its 29 September 2017 rollout in Spanish theatres under DeAPlaneta. In its opening weekend in 219 screens, it grossed €0.49 million (73,000 admissions), obtaining the best takings per screen ratio in the Spanish box office. It went on to gross €2.7 million (483,238 admissions) throughout its theatrical window.
For its North-American premiere, it was programmed at the 29th Palm Springs International Film Festival.
Reception
Jordi Costa of El País assessed that the "fortunate" location of the camp "amplifies" the power of the source material, with the film also featuring new and "very appropriate" characters, "innovative solutions", and an "impeccable" cast.
Jonathan Holland of The Hollywood Reporter commended the film as a "lively and touching debut".