Pennsylvania “Penny” Pearce, a constantly-procrastinating student photographer, put off her thesis for so long that she only has one night to complete her entire project—or she won’t graduate in the morning! Standing in her way is none other than the filmmaker writing her story, whose attempts to raise the stakes for his characters jeopardize Penny’s project.

We Must Create Magnificence was Hank McNeil's undergraduate thesis film, completed through the University of Notre Dame's Department of Film, Television, and Theatre in the 2023 - 2024 school year.