High schooler and Latter-day Saint Paige Olsen of Dallas, Texas, sat in a movie theater in New York City with tears of joy and pride streaming down her cheeks.
“How can we live a beautiful life when there is so much pain in the world?” her own voice asked over the speakers as a video of herself looking through a photo album played across the screen.
Olsen’s three-minute pitch for a documentary had previously won the design pitch category in the All-American High School Film Festival, earning her the equipment to produce the full 10-minute version of the film, which screened in New York City, Oct. 18.
“Holy guacamole,” she recalls thinking after the documentary’s premiere. “How did that just happen?”
Olsen’s documentary focused on who she claims is her hero: her grandfather Ron Mortensen.
“I wanted to know: How does someone like Ron keep smiling after everything he’s been through?” Olsen said in her film.
Olsen specifically wanted to highlight Mortensen’s commitment to the gospel of Jesus Christ — despite the challenges he has faced throughout his life — in hopes of inspiring others to do the same.
“It was important to focus on choosing faith, because there’s a lot of bad things that go on in the world, and you can just be a little happier and just accomplish way more with faith,” she said.
Fostering resilience
Olsen’s documentary reflects on pivotal moments in Mortensen’s life, from his brother’s death at 21 years old to Mortensen’s mission in the South Pacific islands, from the death of his son and even to his own battle with cancer.
Mortensen said watching the finished film left him teary-eyed as he relived both sweet and difficult memories. In his opinion, it’s important to remember both kinds.
“I think the difficult memories made me stronger than even the sweet memories do,” he said.
Mortensen attributed his resilience to his mother, who raised him alone after his father’s death just five days before Mortensen’s birth.
She helped Mortensen stay anchored to the gospel of Jesus Christ and reminded him, “Bad things don’t happen forever.”
Ron Mortensen’s wife, Linda Mortensen, has been by his side through many hardships and joys during their 66 years of marriage.
She said part of remaining optimistic during challenges is remembering that miracles happen every day.
“We just have to stop and think about them and be grateful for them.”
Learning from stories
Olsen admits she was in disbelief when she learned she had won the design-pitch competition and was again in shock during the premiere of her documentary.
But she learned about more than just filmmaking during this documentary experience. Olsen said she’ll be different going forward by seeing people as individuals and thinking about their stories.
“You can do all this work and everything, but the main thing that’s going to be awesome about [a project] is the story,” she said. “It’s not about you. It’s not about all the equipment you have. It’s about the person and their story.”
Katie Olsen — Paige’s mother and the Mortensens’ daughter — said watching Paige create the documentary and learn more about Ron Mortensen will live in her heart forever.
“I am so proud of her for using her talents to spread goodness and hope in the world.”
Olsen said her grandparents are family history enthusiasts, and she’s excited that this film is now part of her family’s history. She hopes her descendants will watch it to learn about Mortensen and grow their own faith.
