Quest
Directed by Jonathan Olshefski
USA | 2017 Documentary | 104 min
Film Source: Filmmakers Collaborative
Awards/premier festivals: Sundance, Grand Jury prizes at Full Frame, Riverrun, Dallas and Ashland
Sponsors: Ducky and Frank Donath
* Followed by Q&A with Director Olshefski*
Jonathan Olshefski’s first feature film is many things. It’s a snapshot of the African-American experience during the Obama administration. It’s a celebration of the perseverance of art in the face of poverty. It’s a chance encounter with the effects of gun violence on innocent bystanders. But most of all, it’s a moving portrait of a family that bows but doesn’t break. Christopher “Quest” Rainey is a hip-hop producer in North Philadelphia who supports his small home-based enterprise with a paper route. His wife, Christine’a, helps makes ends meet by working at a domestic violence shelter. Time passes subtly in Olshefski’s documentary. He spent a decade making the film, sometimes sleeping on the Rainey family’s couch. During that time his camera witnessed setbacks and little victories, the gradual coming of age of the couple’s gay daughter, and the countless small moments that give life meaning. ~LB