POWAY -- When it was time for Jordan Burt to complete a senior project at Poway High School last year, the budding filmmaker didn't have to think long about what he would do.

"I think with movies you can express so much," Burt said Tuesday. "So for the senior project, I really wanted to do a movie. But I didn't want to do a movie like I had done, I didn't want it to be a student film. I wanted to take it to the next level."

The teenager knew by that time that the most powerful movies tell compelling stories. He also knew he had such a story to tell.

That tale is laid out in "The Silent," a short film that has been attracting attention in film circles since it came out last year. Scheduled for a special 7 p.m. showing Thursday at the Poway Center for the Performing Arts, the 28-minute film tells the story of an illegal immigrant who crosses the Mexican border in search of work to support his family.

Written and directed by Burt, now a 19-year-old film student at Chapman University in Orange County, "The Silent" illustrates the human aspect of immigration in a straightforward way that takes no sides and makes no obvious political statements.

"I'm not trying to stir up any trouble," said Burt. "I just kind of wanted a human story to be told."

His filmmaking efforts began several years ago when he used a video camera to record the skateboarding activities and general antics of himself and his friends. Poway High's digital media production arts program gave him the technical tools and practice he needed to channel his passion into cohesive results, Burt said.

His desire to create something more powerful than his earlier efforts prompted him to dip into a reservoir of personal experiences for "The Silent."

The film is based on a real-life incident that happened in 2001, when Burt was 13. He was riding in a car driven by his sister when she struck and killed an undocumented immigrant who suddenly appeared on the road in front of her at night.

"The Silent" uses a similar accident to create a connection between its two main characters.

The first one seen on camera is a young white American who shares Burt's name and is played by actor Tom Hoeck. The other character is a man named Jorge whose desire to improve his family's situation propels him to the U.S.-Mexican border, where he pays smugglers to help him enter the United States.

Most of the story is told through the eyes and voice of Jorge, portrayed by actor Jerry Zatarain.

Burt, who lists Woody Allen as the filmmaker he admires most -- citing Allen's ability to highlight people's flaws in light-hearted ways that don't offend anyone -- made "The Silent" on a budget of about $25,000. Burt's father, real estate developer Kelly Burt, provided the money and is the film's producer.

Apex Media's and Plann-It Productions helped give the film a professional look. Burt said the entire team spent about nine months on pre-production work for the film before an 11-day shoot in San Diego and Baja.

The process taught him that, as the film's director, he carried a heavy load of responsibilities and faced many challenges, including the need to learn how to communicate what he wanted from his actors, he said. Watching his vision become reality was sheer joy, though, said Burt.

"It really is magical," he said. "There's really not another way to describe it."

Recently named "best high school drama" at the International Student Film Festival in Hollywood, "The Silent" will also be shown at the competitive Smogdance Film Festival, which starts Sunday in Orange County. After that, said Burt, he hopes to see the film get a larger Latino audience.

"I want it to be pushed kind of that way and see how they respond to it," he said.

Tickets to Thursday's special screening of "The Silent" are $5 for students and $8 for adults. The Poway Center for the Performing Arts is at 15498 Espola Road.

- Contact staff writer Andrea Moss at (760) 739-6654 or amoss@nctimes.com.