We Can Be Heroes
To LARP (Live Action Role-Play) is to become something bigger, better, beyond yourself. As a group of neurodivergent and LGBTQIA+ teens converge upon the Wayfinder Experience in upstate New York, they learn how to defeat evil and discover the hero within.
Co-Directors Alex Simmons and Carina Wong scheduled to attend.
“‘We Can Be Heroes’ is a documentary that makes your heart swell and makes you instantly protective of its young subjects, except that for over 86 minutes you watch those subjects slay demons and reshape a dying universe.”—Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter
Hidden in New York’s Hudson Valley, far from the mundane world we know, the six fairy courts converge at the Last Green to combat an overwhelming force of devastation that threatens to destroy their legendary realm. Sometimes finding your fellow adventurers requires a bit of magic. For attendees of Wayfinder, a live action role-playing (LARP) camp, the deeply accepting environment gives neurodivergent, queer, and self-proclaimed “nerdy” teens a space for self-discovery that has eluded them elsewhere. There’s Dexter—author of the three-volume “Song of Atlantis”—who seeks to reunite with his crush while avoiding ticks. First-time camper Cloud, a master of the blade, practices sword-fighting two hours a day. Meanwhile, Abby’s return to camp marks their attempt to reclaim some semblance of a “normal” life after being diagnosed with a debilitating chronic illness. As these campers and others immerse themselves in an epic three-day campaign, they discover inner strengths and resilience, heal traumas, and emerge as heroes, both in the fantasy realm and in real life. Bursting with warmth, humor, and empathy, We Can Be Heroes celebrates those fleeting but profoundly formative moments that make up the most intense years of adolescence—all with a little help from foam swords.
- Director: Carina Mia Wong, Alex Simmons
- Principal Cast: Dexter, Cloud, Abby, Miranda, Kate, Max, Luisa (formerly Alex), Eli, Adelaide, Judson
- Country: USA
- Year: 2024
- Running Time: 86 min.
- Producer: Jennifer Wood, Krista Manis, Carina Mia Wong, Alex Simmons
- Cinematographers: Peter Alton, Michael Lockridge, Madeleine Peters
- Editors: Alex Simmons, Rebecca Adorno Dávila
- Music: Dan Deacon
- Filmography: Debut Feature Film
- Language: English
- International Sales: Cinetic