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The IMDb Studio At The 2018 Sundance Film Festival - Day 3

Source: Tommaso Boddi / Getty

As many cities and states battle laws that allow for conversion therapy, one movie is showing just how harmful the practice can be.

The Miseducation of Cameron Post details the story of Cameron (Chloë Grace Moretz), whose “ultraconservative” aunt outed her and sent her to a religious conversion camp. Set in 1993, the films follows her as she meets Jane (Sasha Lane) and Adam (Forrest Goodluck) at the camp, who commiserate with her over being in such a miserable place while fighting to maintain their identities and dignity without causing too many problems.

Based on the 2012 young adult novel by emily m. danforth, the film premiered at the 2018 Sundance film festival and won the Grand Jury Prize. The movie also includes the narratives of Jane, a Black lesbian played by an African American and Maorī actress, and Adam, who is Native American two-spirit and played by a Navajo actor. We also see Emily Skeggs, who played a lead role in Fun Home, the Broadway musical based on Alison Bechdel’s graphic memoir, in a supporting role as Erin. The director and screenplay writer is Desiree Akhavan, an Iranian-American bisexual woman.

The only common thing about this movie is the white female lead, but even so, we rarely see young queer women coming of age stories—particularly in feature films. We’ve also haven’t seen a movie about conversion camps since the cult-classic But I’m A Cheerleader! debuted in 1999.

The movie comes out in select theaters August 3, but you can check out the trailer down below.