Cinematic arts students work on set of family film, meet actor Kevin Sorbo

About 65 cinematic arts students at Liberty University spent three weeks filming around Central Virginia this spring, including on campus, for the film “Miracle on the Precipice,” which is based on true events and further inspired by John Bunyan’s novel “The Pilgrim’s Progress.”

The film, written and directed by Nathan Todd Sims for FusionFlix Entertainment, follows a struggling family into a mountainous wilderness as they try to reconnect and rebuild their once joyful family.

Liberty cinematic arts professor Stuart Lachlan Bennett, (p.g.a), is one of the film’s producers.

“In the process of camping, the family gets split up through a series of events and the dad ends up in a predicament where he’s on a precipice with a broken leg,” Bennett said. “(The story is) about the trials that the family goes through, and that’s where the aspect of Christian faith comes in. The lessons learned through this process are part of the redemption story of this family.”

Actor Kevin Sorbo, who has starred in many faith-based films, is part of the cast. He has made previous visits to Liberty and spoken to cinematic arts students, most recently as a member of a filmmaking panel at last fall’s CEO Summit. Sorbo said he’s enjoyed meeting more students and working alongside them on this project.

“The college I went to didn’t have a film department; I think every university should have one,” Sorbo said during filming on campus in April. “There’s so much talent on both sides of the camera. I think what’s happening here at Liberty is awesome. I’m so impressed with the students, they’re so polite and kind.”

“I love the message of hope and redemption in this film,” he said of the project. “I think those are some of the biggest things missing in our world today. People are looking for answers, they’re (fearful) … and they’re looking for hope.”

Bennet said Sorbo’s involvement in the film is an added excitement for the students, as he brings professionalism and industry knowledge to the set.

“Having actors like Kevin Sorbo come in is just fantastic,” Bennett said. “It’s a boost for the students to get to work with someone with his kind of experience. We find that these kinds of actors are so wonderful and easy to work with and so encouraging to students.”

The filming schedule was split into two phases with students taking on a different crew role in each phase so they could gain multiple perspectives on how a film set operates. Faith Stevens spent the first half of the process in the production office helping to organize supplies and transportation for the cast and crew and then spent the second phase as an assistant makeup artist. Between the two roles, she said she got to experience the stresses and successes of creating a feature film.

“It’s been such a roller coaster of different locations, problem solving, time management, but at the end of the day, it’s so much fun because you get to work with so many people and create art,” Stevens said. “We get to create a project that’s truly inspiring and points people to God.”

“It’s been teaching me what the industry can be like while I’m still a student, as opposed to just going out into the world and maybe falling on my face at the beginning,” added Walter Williams IV, who worked as a camera production assistant and helped provide backup equipment to other crew members. “This gives me the opportunity to collaborate with not only classmates but also professionals in the business.”

As a member of the project’s behind-the-scenes team, documenting and interviewing students as they work on set, Ben Black attested to how much he and his peers have been immersed in the professional filmmaking process.

“This is what a real-world industry job would look like,” Black said. “Being able to get hands-on experience for our careers, which makes us feel more prepared and like we have an edge, is really valuable. We’re getting practical experience that we can show future employers. It’s been hard, but it’s also been a lot of fun.”

A theatrical release of “Miracle on the Precipice” is being targeted for early 2025.

The cinematic arts department has been a part of 12 projects, including feature films, short films, TV pilots, and a TV series. Three of their feature films and the TV series were nationally released.

The two-year immersion cohort for the B.F.A. in Film Production & Creative Development and B.S. in Film Production & Content Development allows students to concentrate solely on filmmaking. In addition to creating their own short film and business plan, students earn at least one IMDb credit on a professional film project.