Tampa Film Fan

In 1936, Lillian Smith was the first white woman in the South to write and speak openly against racism and segregation. Miss Lil’s Camp focuses on an aspect of Smith’s life as the founder and director of Laurel Falls Camp (Miss Lil’s Camp), an exclusive summer camp in Clayton, Georgia, for girls from upper middle class Southern homes. During the time when traditional Southern leadership was committed to a racially segregated society, some of young campers rejected Smith’s radical ideas, while others embraced them. Sixty years after the close of camp, Miss Lil’s Camp reunites three former campers and a former camp employee at the original campgrounds, bringing Miss Lil and Laurel Falls Camp back to life using rare archival footage woven into interviews of these women.

According to Niedland, who produced, edited and co-directed the film with Anberin Pasha, “The theme of this documentary is the timeless issues of racial, social and gender intolerance and the courage of one woman to confront them.” What pleases Niedland most is that when the 26-minute film ends, the dialogue about the relevancy of these issues continues among viewers of the film.

Attending the screening with Niedland will be Bunny Timmerman, a camper at Laurel Falls Camp for eleven years. “Aside from my parents, Miss Lil had the greatest influence on my life. Miss Lil taught campers about tolerance and to love our neighbors and leave the judging to God.”

Niedland, who has family in the Tampa Bay area, received her BA and MA in Documentary Filmmaking from the University of Florida. While living in St. Petersburg, as an actor, she performed at both the Tampa Theatre and the Golden Apple Dinner Theater. Niedland lives and works in Jupiter, Florida where she produces and directs film projects through her company, BusEye Films, LLC.