One of the most highly anticipated films at Sundance Film Festival – happening right the hell now – is The Miseducation of Cameron Post, an adaptation of Emily M. Danforth‘s queer coming of age story set at a gay conversion camp in 1993.
Chloë Grace Moretz plays the titular Cameron, a lesbian teen who is shipped off to a conversion camp by her evangelical Christian aunt / guardian. Sasha Lane, Jennifer Ehle, Quinn Shepard and John Gallagher Jr. all star in the film, which was written and directed by Desiree Akhavan.
During the Q&A that followed the film’s Sundance premiere, Moretz revealed that she’d met with survivors of gay conversation therapy in preparation for the film.
As Indiewire reports, at one point, an audience member asked Moretz to share some stats about conversation therapy in the U.S., and another audience member piped up: “Let me take this.”
He revealed himself to be Matthew Shurka, one of the film’s consultants, and joined the cast and crew onstage.
“It is now illegal in nine different states, for minors only. New Hampshire [just] voted it down, to make it illegal,” he said. “The most recent bill is New York City, and the mayor wants to make it illegal for all ages.”
After the applause, he continued: “Unfortunately, it is legal in the remaining states. I’m one of the survivors, and Chloe brought us together. The movie is very moving. Thank you.”
Conversion therapy – something actively supported by Vice President Mike Pence – has been condemned by both the U.N. and the American Medical Association, but is still practiced across the United States.
“I want to make films that are really honest and true to my life as I see it,” said Akhavan in an interview with Deadline Hollywood. “I really loved the story because it fiercely advocated for ugliness in people, and how they don’t mean to be ugly.”
There’s no official release date or trailer as of yet, but we’ll keep you posted.
