A reporter searching in a sweltering jungle for a man accused of war crimes sounds like the plot of a bestseller, but it was the real-life story journalist Amanda Pike described in her lecture Tuesday night.

Her speech, presented at the McCormick Tribune Center Forum as part of the Global Zone speaker series, featured her documentary for PBS’s Frontline/World news magazine.

The documentary recorded her journey through Cambodia in search of Nuon Chea, a member of the Khmer Rouge regime that ordered mass genocide and killed 2 million people between 1975 and 1979.

Pike said the film was created to understand why Chea’s crimes haven’t been brought to trial.

“The U.N. has been trying for five years (to try him), and they pulled out in February of 2002 because they couldn’t give a fair trial,” Pike said. “The Cambodian legal system is a mess.”

Pike’s documentary showed the civil war’s effects on genocide survivors’ faith in justice.

“You can see a lack of trust in ordinary Cambodians,” she said. “People don’t have faith in the justice system if (the justice system) has not charged the Khmer Rouge.”

The documentary included Pike’s meeting with Chea, who denied his involvement in the genocide. Pike was surprised she was able to obtain the interview.

“I just went in and hoped for the best,” she said. “I asked him honest questions, but I was not very aggressive about it. The meeting was polite and direct.”

While making the documentary, which was recorded over five weeks, Pike was challenged with various cultural differences, especially language.

“Western culture hasn’t really penetrated there,” she said. “So translation was a huge issue with us. … But I wanted to have the voices of Cambodians and get them right.”

Pike also discussed her experience interviewing the Cambodians who survived genocide. She said that while some were open to sharing their stories, others were more reticent.

Some of the 45 students in attendance were impressed with Pike’s knowledge about her subject.

“I thought that it was very well done,” said Samuel King, president of the Northwestern chapter of the Student Association of Black Journalists. “It was also interesting to see the cultural differences, especially one that’s not westernized.”

Medill senior Ankur Bahl said the presentation challenged students to get involved in more difficult reporting.

“I think that Medill students are drilled to think that they have to go out and do meaningless stories,” he said. “This disproved that.”

Pike told The Daily she hoped journalism students, especially those studying broadcast, would respond well to her presentation.

“Television seems very intimidating,” she said. “I was hoping to show that you have the power in your hands. If you’re dying to tell a story — whether it is on the other side of the world or it is on the other side of the street — you shouldn’t hold back your imagination.”