Documentary Highlights East Lansing Music Camp ‘RicStar’

Losing a child is a parent’s worst nightmare. It can lead to the feeling of absolute deep dark devastation and despair. 

When Dick and Judy Winter lost their son Eric, who was born with cerebral palsy, they found a way to shed light on disabilities. Through such a sad time, they have found a way to bring joy, happiness and music to thousands of families. During their ongoing grieving process, the parents looked for ways to memorialize and honor Eric’s love for music. 

They founded the Eric ‘RicStar’ Winter Music Therapy Camp, which began in 2003 in conjunction with the Michigan State University Community Music School. Eric had worked with music therapist Cindy Edgerton, the Community Music School’s director of music therapy clinical services. Together, Edgerton and the Winters created a camp that would provide the same type of education and enjoyment with music that Eric loved so dearly. 

Every year thousands of campers of all ages spend a week in East Lansing to experience a day camp designed specifically for people with special needs. The campers enjoy musical education, learn means of expression and enjoy interactions with one another. The goal is to lessen the stereotypes and preconceived notions of people with disabilities. 

Now, they’re sharing perspectives of music campers, staff, families and advocates in the new documentary, “Camp RicStar.” The film is celebrating its Michigan premiere at the Capital City Film Festival (CCFF) in Lansing. The movie is the opening night feature film, kicking off CCFF on Wednesday, April 10 at 6 p.m. at the Central United Methodist Church. The local support was overwhelming, and CCFF added a second showing at 8:30 p.m. 

ELi caught up with camp founder, journalist, public speaker, author and activist Judy Winter, and learned about what she’s been up to since we last spoke in 2019 about her L’Oréal Paris “Women of Worth” award. The recognition that came with the award provided a larger platform for Eric’s story to be shared, which led to a serendipitous meeting with filmmakers to provide an even bigger stage or in this case, the big screen, to share the inspirational story. 

During the Women of Worth program, filmmakers Lukas Hauser and Sam McConnell met Winter while filming short documentary pieces about all of the honorees. 

“In 2019, this was actually our 10th year that we had done the project,” McConnell said. “When we met Judy, her story was just one of the most moving, impactful and inspiring stories that we had encountered during the entire project. We were so impressed by her and the camp. Lukas and I had already started thinking that there was an opportunity here to tell a bigger story. We started talking about that right after the Women of Worth event in December 2019, and started hatching out plans to make this documentary.”

Over 10 years producing work for L’Oreal, the pair made 100 short documentaries, but this specific story really stuck out. 

“I’m sure there are many that could be made into beautiful feature films, but this one ultimately spoke to us,” McConnell said. 

Some might call it luck, others might call it serendipity, but Winter calls it “RicStar magic.”

“Every twist and turn in this wonderful experience working with these guys has had Eric all over it,” she said. “It’s just magic.”

Dick and Judy Winter serve as executive producers for the film and have been working for the past three years with McConnell, the film’s director and producer, and Hauser who is the master editor, writer and producer. Making the movie and telling Eric’s story to the world was one of Winter’s long-term goals. 

“We knew there was a story worth telling here, one that would give respect to the families, and feature the campers in starring roles,” she said. 

The bulk of interviews and filming happened during 2021 and the 20th anniversary of the RicStar Camp in 2022. The editing process continued through 2023, and the group started submitting to film festivals for consideration soon after. 

McConnell said being able to capture the campers’ return was especially moving. 

“Campers had been away for two years when they had to do a virtual camp,” he says. “It just made that reunion all the more special for all of these campers who come for five, 10, 15, or 20 years. This is something they look forward to every year, and they really missed it so much. Being able to capture that reunion was really special for the film.”

At the height of the pandemic, the camp transitioned to being held virtually for the first time. As COVID shut down everything, the crucial services many families were receiving like therapy and doctor visits were no longer provided in-person. Winter said this time was especially devastating for those with disabilities. She made sure that campers could still have their music therapy camp. 

“When COVID hit and everything shut down, for these families, that meant all of the services they were receiving shut down,” Winter said. “They weren’t getting the therapies, they weren’t being able to easily get to a doctor. It was a devastating time for this population. We decided we were going to make sure they still had their music therapy.” 

The virtual camp was successful, and today, both virtual and in-person options are offered. 

At the premiere of “Camp RicStar” on March 8 at the Cinequest Film Festival in San Jose, California, the filmmakers got to see audience reactions in real-time. McConnell said witnessing the responses for the first time was a moving and overwhelming experience. 

“There’s always a lot of tears,” he said. “For me, it’s just a real joy to see audiences connect with our campers and really get to know them. For a lot of people, they don’t necessarily have a disability in their immediate life, and this is really a chance for them to get to know campers David and Jenna, and put a face to it. It’s not an abstract idea anymore, you’re getting to know these real, wonderful people. The best part of seeing it with an audience is to be able to see them experience the joy that these campers have when they’re able to express themselves, experience the power of music, and to be able to have that community.”

Although there are many tears, Winter said there’s also laughs too.

“We certainly provide comic relief, which is really important because this is a very powerful film that does bring people to tears,” she said. “It’s a big documentary and it touches all the buttons, so we skillfully put in places where you can get a little relief from that.”

The film has already started to shift the narrative surrounding those living with disabilities. Part of the goal was to make people stop looking away from disability and to see the people behind the disability, said Winter.

“There’s so much there, and so many people overlook it,” she said. “By placing them center stage, giving them personalities, and showing that they’re about so much more than a diagnosis, I think we really succeeded beautifully.”

The local East Lansing ties run throughout the movie’s themes and footage. All co-founders of the music therapy camp are MSU grads. Students and graduates of MSU show their faces in the film, as does Sparty. Although the backdrop is hyper-local, the film’s messages are truly universal. 

Winter is especially proud to share the homegrown story with a hometown crowd in Lansing at the CCFF next month. McConnell, who’s based in Los Angeles, even considers himself an adopted Michigander from the time he spent fondly in East Lansing and across the state. He considers many of the campers and their families as friends now. 

“I was very impressed by the community that I felt in East Lansing,” McConnell said. “I’m so thrilled that the Capital City Film Fest and the community as a whole is really embracing this film. What I’m most excited about is that it’s an opportunity for a lot of our campers that we feature in the film to be able to attend, see the film, and to see them see themselves on screen and feel like movie stars.”

In a time that often amplifies divisiveness, the film aims to celebrate the differences, but unite folks together in their inherent similarities. 

“One of our campers, Austin, really sums it up so beautifully in the film,” McConnell said. “She says, ‘we all just want to be seen as human at the end of the day.’ Part of being human and being treated with respect and dignity is being able to have the access and freedom to experience things like joy, and exploring parts of yourself by connecting with music, art, and community.”

Ultimately, Winter hopes the 87-minute-long film can have a lasting impact, and inspire change. The “Camp RicStar” movie advocates for those with disabilities and their families, and to aims inspire more entities to include this population in important conversations. There are Q&A sessions planned for after both of the film’s showings at the CCFF. 

McConnell felt inspired by his work on the film, and hopes it can do the same for those who see it. 

“This idea of a ripple effect really inspired us,” he said. “Eric Winter had a short life, but his impact has lived on in such beautiful ways through the camp, and has changed the lives of these campers and their families. Now we hope, through our film, that not just Eric’s life, but also the stories of the campers we include, can continue to have a ripple effect on even more people.”

The Eric ‘RicStar’ Winter Music Therapy Camp takes place in-person and virtually this year. There are two sessions available, based on age. The GO WHITE session for ages 30+ is on June 13-15, 2024. The GO GREEN session for ages birth through 29 is on June 17-19. Registration is available online or by mail. 

Correction: This story was updated to correct the roles of Sam McConnell and Lukas Hauser and specify the roles of Dick and Judy Winter.