By DEXTER DUGGAN
Impacting culture for Christ is the goal of California’s John Paul the Great Catholic University, located in northern San Diego County. A key tool the school uses is educating students in media production, aided by experts from Southern California’s entertainment industry.
Among recent items at the “news center” at the school’s website (www.jpcatholic.com) is an article about a former John Paul the Great student, Brian Olson, working on a documentary about the positive side of Honduras, despite problems the Central American country faces. It’s titled La Otra Cara, meaning The Other Face or The Other Side.
The website article, “Documentary aims to show ‘another side’ of Honduras,” says the production company, Lush Works, recently launched a small Indiegogo crowd-funding campaign to cover remaining expenses.
Olson was believed to be traveling back to Honduras and unavailable for comment when The Wanderer attempted to contact him for an interview at the end of March. However, the school’s president, Derry Connolly, Ph.D., praised Olson.
“Brian has a passion for the art of cinematography. He is truly blessed with the innate ability to capture beautiful images with a camera that significantly enhance his ability to tell a story,” Connolly told The Wanderer. “This is clear in his Honduras video — the cinematography is stunning and it brings life to the screen.
“Brian comes from a strong Catholic family and used his time at JPCatholic to grow in his relationship with Jesus. We are proud of his faith in Jesus Christ and his masterful artistry,” said Connolly, who previously served on the executive board of the Center for the Commercialization of Advanced Technology at the University of California, San Diego.
In the article at the John Paul the Great website, Olson said he went to the school to learn about media in a Catholic environment, and he became stronger in his faith — “I asked God for guidance, and the journey of the past seven years has built me into the man that I am today. . . .
“Anything authentic and good does not normally come easy. I must pray and work hard in every aspect of my life. I also must continue learning and upgrading my skills,” Olson added. “I must give myself to others if I want to be a steward of Christ. Finally, I must be a solid Christian example and light for unbelievers in this darkened world.”
A trailer for La Otra Cara shows local Latinos saying Honduras is a country rich with natural resources whose people can be supported and motivated to take control of their future through business endeavors, and who want to learn, overcome, and get ahead.
This is an inspirational message often missing from what people in the United States are told by pro-open-borders media, who claim the only hope for people from the south is to march into the U.S.
In a message he posted at Indiegogo, filmmaker Olson says: “Honduras is a small country with great natural beauty, but it also has great human suffering. It is estimated that 65 percent or more of the people live in poverty, 36 percent are unemployed, and the country has the highest per-capita murder rate in the world (primarily in the two largest cities). Honduras is the midpoint for drug trafficking between Colombia and the United States.
“This was my biased understanding of the country until last fall,” Olson admitted, “when I went to film a medical brigade, and on the two subsequent visits, I decided there was a story to be told of this country — one contrary to what is being told in the media. Honduran culture is rooted in humility, honesty, and hard work. . . .
“How does one create opportunity,” he asked, “where there is believed to be none? Can the youth in gang-infested cities interact with each other? How can we positively impact the lives of the people and the perception of Honduras?. . .
“The message in this film is strong and shows true perseverance and dedication, but to truly make a change there needs to be a plan for the future. This plan will provide the impoverished communities with tools and education to support themselves,” Olson said.
“We want to provide free screenings of the documentary in as many Honduran towns and cities as we can. By doing so, we will provide hope to the people that positive change can and will happen. When men and women are given tools and knowledge to produce, the results are magnificent,” he said.
“Our plan is to film a collection of instructional videos that show a variety of technical trades such as beekeeping, jewelry making, cacao processing, and woodwork. These videos will be made easily accessible and available to everyone in Honduras at local libraries,” Olson said.
In the article at the John Paul the Great website, Olson said: “My work is heavily influenced by our neighbors in Latin America. For the most part, theirs is a determined and hard-working culture. My Catholic faith sustained me as I interviewed ex-gang members, corrupt politicians, the homeless and poor farmers.
“My desire is for others to see me as a person who respects all people no matter what their station in life, and that I have a sincere hope to help them learn ways to be self-supporting,” he said. “This is how I want to impact the culture. If I can inspire others to share their gifts and talents through my interactions with them, and through my work as a filmmaker, then in a small way I have impacted the culture for Christ. . . .
“I believe that we are living in a time of deep suffering in many regions of the world, but in the darkest times there is the most opportunity to create light, or shine the light on those who are making a difference,” Olson said. “Do not waste time, as life is short, and we as Americans have won the ‘lottery’ with our gifts of opportunity and freedom. These God-given gifts should not be wasted.”
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