A documentary series currently under production will feature the
lives of nine LDS young men as they graduate from high school and
consider and prepare for missionary service.
__IMAGE1__The series is scheduled to be completed around fall 2010 and will air
on BYU-TV, said Manju Varghese, series producer with Mirror Lake Films.
As part of the production, filmmakers recently visited Stephen Nelson
at The George Washington University in Washington, D.C. GW's student
newspaper, The Hatchet, picked up on the story.
Mirror Lake's film crew followed Nelson for the first days of
school. Newspaper photos show Nelson reading his scriptures while
others sample beer. Nelson is the first of his Utah family to venture
outside the state to attend college.The newspaper reported:
"Although Nelson said having a camera crew following him at all times
can be fun, he said it can get a little awkward. 'Especially on
move-in day, having a camera crew trail behind you is not the most
convenient thing, especially because you're moving your luggage in,
setting up your room,' Nelson said.
"For the most part, Nelson said, fellow GW students were receptive to
the camera crew. 'If anything, the camera crew was an attractive force
and people came up to me and asked me what they were doing and then
they introduced themselves,' Nelson said."
__IMAGE3__Varghese said it was interesting to watch Nelson move into his dorm
and see how is handling the transition.
"It is really great to see him come into his own, which I think a lot
of their stories are 'Who are are you?' 'How do you define yourself?'
That is what we are seeing. They are figuring out who they are and
why," she said.
Nelson and the eight other young men have been tracked since their
high school graduation. Varghese said she and fellow filmmaker
Chantelle Squires Olsen, series director of this film, are following the lives of young men with
different backgrounds, including varied experiences in the LDS Church.
However, most were referred through the seminary principal at Salt
Lake City's West High School.
The series will explore situations including attending
college, getting jobs, saving money and just "trying to figure it
out," Varghese said.
"A lot of times in the Mormon culture (a mission) just tends to be the
next step, but I don't think a lot of people know what goes into
getting to that step. What are the considerations? What are the
obstacles? What are the experiences you have that lead you to that
point?"
__IMAGE2__The project, which took Varghese to the University of Redlands in California this
past week, still has the working title "Five Friends." Obviously, that
title will have to change because the project has expanded from the
original concept of five young men to nine.
At Redlands, Varghese and her crew
are following Daniel Wray. Wray, a
football wide receiver recruited from West High, must make decisions about
sports, scholarships and missionary service.
Another documentary subject, Paris Thomas, 18, is a transplant to
Salt Lake City from Alabama. Thomas converted to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and moved
to Utah when he was 16. He faces different challenges in preparing
for a mission than those whose families are members of the church.
"He really wants to be a missionary. His heart is just set on that."
"His perspective as a convert to the church and where he sees himself
going is exciting."Varghese balks at any representation that the production is "reality
TV." She says the project focuses on documentary techniques and
doesn't try to manipulate situations. Already, Varghese and Olsen have
produced other documentaries, including "Reserved to Fight," a documentary about Iraq War veterans
who face isolationism and difficulty relating with loved ones after
their military service.
The challenges and obstacles young men face in making the decision to
serve a mission is a fascinating storyline. Understanding the pathway
to making a decision to serve a mission has great potential to
inspire. Along with the obvious LDS audience, others outside the faith
should be interested in the show as a window on the unique Mormon
culture.