Two documentaries made by BYU journalism capstone students screened at the Zions Indie Film Fest in Orem on Feb. 26.
These documentaries were “Pathway to Education: Breaking Ground in Ghana,” created during the Winter 2024 semester, and “The Savior Stood Before Mine Eyes: Understanding the Legacy of Thorvaldsen’s Christus Statue,” created during the Spring 2024 term. The festival featured the two documentaries within a block of five total short documentaries, all showcasing heartwarming and spiritually impactful stories.
Each semester, BYU journalism capstone students travel far and wide to tell impactful stories. From Chicago and Hawaii to Denmark and Ghana, these students have pulled all-nighters to turn these stories into professional-level documentaries. For the creators of the two screened documentaries specifically, these all-nighters were worth it for their recognition at the festival.
These students spent long hours traveling, filming, conducting interviews and editing their projects throughout each semester.
“It was great to be able to see all that hard work, those weeks of work that we put into it, come out so that other people can enjoy it,” Lynnette McConkie, BYU journalism graduate, said.
McConkie contributed her talents to “The Savior Stood Before Mine Eyes,” a documentary on the origin and impact of the Christus statue in Denmark.
“I also love that we got to explore how something that was inspired lifted other people,” McConkie said.
BYU journalism graduates Sydni Merrill and Ethan Porter worked on “Pathway to Education: Breaking Ground in Ghana,” discussing the impact of BYU-Pathway Worldwide in Ghana.
“Living in Utah, we’ve kind of always been in this bubble,” Porter said, “and so it was really cool to be able to meet people with different worldviews and be able to just kind of learn how education is important for everyone regardless of where you are.”
Porter said the festival gave him the opportunity to watch other documentaries and use them as inspiration for his future projects.
“To be able to see different cultures, see a different way of life and see how education impacts other people around the world,” Merrill said. “BYU-Pathway Worldwide, I think, is doing a really great service to these people in order to teach fundamental life skills.”