Teach a Man

Jay Smouse surprises Zoe Grant by showing up at her church for a missions meeting, plopping down beside her and claiming he has a "comprehensive background in the film industry" - even though his only credit is a wordless spot in the back of a TV crowd. Mr. Whittaker has invited him to join a trip with ITEC, a ministry that equips local people to serve their own communities, and this team is headed to Honduras to teach villagers how to make their own movies about what God has done in their lives. Zoe suspects Jay signed up mostly because she's going, though Jay insists he cares about the kids - even if he can't quite remember whether they're in Hungary or Honduras.

In Honduras, Jay and Zoe immediately squabble over who should be in charge. Zoe has read stacks of books on documentary filmmaking; Jay figures being on one real Hollywood set beats all of that. On the drive to the village, Zoe spots a billboard featuring "little Miguel," a poor boy she remembers from a heart-tugging charity video, and dreams of putting his story in her documentary. When they arrive, so many teens show up that Mr. Whittaker splits the class in two, with Jay and Zoe each leading a group. Privately, he encourages Jay to do his best, work with the kids, and have fun.

The two classes could not be more different. Zoe lectures about pre-production and the art of storytelling, waving off her students' eager questions about tripods and batteries. Jay barely teaches at all - he hands his students the tablet, tells them to point and shoot, and announces, "Hasta piñata!" as he heads off for a nap. Yet somehow his students thrive. When Javier shows him their first wobbly video, Jay cheers them on and starts sharing real tips, like the rule of thirds. Soon Zoe's group of ten has dwindled to almost no one, while Jay's has swelled to sixteen.

Meanwhile, Zoe hunts for the perfect story. When a girl named Selena suggests her cousin, who has muscular dystrophy, Zoe politely brushes the idea aside - he isn't getting better, and he mostly stays home. She'd rather find little Miguel. Selena walks her to his village, where Zoe gets a shock: little Miguel isn't little anymore, and fame from his internet video has gone straight to his head. He's now the face of Cuatro Colores Yogurt, informs her that "these things usually go through my agent," demands payment, and insists the yogurt container appear in every shot. Zoe films him anyway, but late that night, editing alone, she admits to Mr. Whittaker that Miguel's testimony won't inspire anyone. Whit gently points out a bigger problem: she's doing all the work herself, while Jay's students are learning by doing. "You're not here to make movies," he reminds her - she's there to teach others so the work continues long after the team goes home.

The next day, Whit asks to see Jay's group's progress. Their film turns out to be a mock documentary billed as "one of the great love stories of our time" - kid actors reenacting how a heroic, cement-block-lifting Jay first met a smitten Zoe. Whit stops the screening, and while a mortified Zoe looks for a rock to crawl under, he declares it entertaining but not what they're after. He merges the two groups and challenges them to combine their strengths on one inspiring story.

Selena bravely offers her cousin's story again, and this time she insists Zoe simply meet him. She leads Zoe to a lake, where her cousin is out fishing - using a special device around his waist that a man from their church built for him. Selena explains that he never gives up, even though his life is hard, and Zoe finally sees the story that was in front of her all along.

The whole team gets to work, with the village kids running the cameras and using everything they've learned. The finished film tells how Selena's cousin sank into depression after doctors said there was no cure, how hearing "Amazing Grace" in church convinced him God still had something for him to live for, and how engineers brought the device that lets him fish and bring home dinner for his family three times a week. "God gave me a purpose," he says. Watching it come together, Mr. Whittaker tells the kids it's really good - and on the flight home, Jay admits that working with those kids was surprisingly amazing. Zoe says the young filmmakers will do just fine without them, and Whit smiles, because that was exactly the point.