Preview – The Overnighters

– by Shawn Conner

The Overnighters, an acclaimed documentary by Jesse Moss, opens at Vancity Theatre Dec. 12.

The film follows down-and-out men who are drawn to North Dakota in the hopes of getting work in the oil fields. However, when they arrive – specifically, at a town called Williston – they find hostile citizens who are fed up with the invaders. It’s up to one kindhearted pastor, Jay Reinke, to give the men shelter in his church – something that doesn’t sit well with either his congregation or the church’s neighbours.

But what seems like a straight documentary about a particularly bleak story about modern American turns into something darker and surprising as The Overnighters progresses. Just when you think you’ve got it figured out, The Overnighters turns out to be about more than the breaking down of the American dream.

The Overnighters premiered this year at Sundance, where it won the Special Jury Prize for Intuitive Filmmaking, and played to appreciative audiences at the Hot Docs 2014 festival.

Trailer – The Overnighters:

For tickets and showtimes, visit viff.org.

Trailer