Director: Jesse Moss | USA | Documentary | 2014 | 100 mins
Film source: Drafthouse
Sponsor: Vermont Energy Investment Corporation
The Overnighters is a brilliant exploration of community, compassion, and morality. It tells a story of a small American town in North Dakota where jobless people from all over the country come to work hard and make money off the Natural Gas industry. With the help of Pastor Jay Reinke the newcomers hope to make it in the economic downturn. Motivated by his Christian obligation and human compassion, the Pastor assists with all he can, even shelters several of them in his own house. The town becomes a symbol of hope until a stunning thriller-like turn offers a deep look into a self-destructing society. The Overnighters has the dramatic proportions of a moral tale of sacrifice and betrayal, rejecting and accepting, right and wrong. The film won the Special Jury Prize for Documentary Film in Sundance Film Festival, 2014.