The Overnighters 2014
Previous FilmsDespite the current economic crisis in the United States, the oil business is booming in Williston, North Dakota. Thousands of desperate men and women flock to the region in search of the American Dream: a living wage job. Because housing in Williston is scarce and expensive, newcomers arrive daily at Concordia Lutheran Church seeking help. Pastor Jay Reinke invites these “Overnighters” to stay for a night, a week or sometimes even longer as they look for work. It’s a decision that puts him in conflict with his Congregation, his neighbors and the local newspaper. As Pastor Jay fights for these men, he is drawn deeper into their troubled lives, setting in motion a chain of events that spirals out of control, and eventually forces the Pastor to confess a secret with shattering consequences.
The Filmmakers
Jesse Moss, Director + Producer
Jesse Moss is a San Francisco-based filmmaker. He produced, directed and photographed FULL BATTLE RATTLE, about the US Army’s fake Iraq in the Mojave Desert. The film premiered at the 2008 Berlinale (Panorama), won the Special Jury Prize at SXSW and opened theatrically at the Film Forum in New York. Prior to that he produced, directed and photographed SPEEDO: A DEMOLITION DERBY LOVE STORY, which won festival awards and critical raves across the country, aired on PBS/POV and was optioned by Warner Bros Pictures. His first film, CON MAN, about an Ivy League impostor was commissioned by HBO. He also produced WILLIAM KUNSTLER: DISTURBING THE UNIVERSE, which premiered at Sundance in 2009, was released theatrically by Arthouse Films and opened PBS/POV’s 2010 series. Moss has twice been a fellow of the MacDowell Colony and the Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program. He is a lecturer in the Cinema Department at San Francisco State University.
Amanda McBaine, Producer
Amanda McBaine is a fifth-generation San Franciscan, but spent most of her adult life in New York writing and working in film. She has produced and edited documentary film for PBS, HBO, Court TV and the Discovery Channel, in addition to various government agencies and NGOs including: NIH, CDC, WHO and the Department of Veterans Affairs. She is currently working on a novel loosely inspired by her great-great-grandfather’s whiskey business. Amanda relocated to San Francisco in late 2011 with her husband and two daughters. She received a BA from Vassar College and an MFA in creative writing from the New School.