A modern-day Grapes of Wrath Jesse Moss's award-winning documentary The Overnighters engages and dramatises a set of universal societal themes: the promise and limits of re-invention redemption and compassion as well as the tension between the moral imperative to love thy neighbour and the resistance that one small community feels when confronted by a surge of desperate job-seeking strangers. In the tiny town of Williston North Dakota tens of thousands of unemployed hopefuls show up with dreams of honest work and a big paycheck under the lure of the oil boom.... However busloads of newcomers chasing a broken American Dream step into the stark reality of slim work prospects and nowhere to sleep. The town lacks the infrastructure to house the overflow of migrants even for those who do find gainful employment. Pastor Jay Reinke of the Concordia Lutheran Church is driven to deliver the migrants some dignity. Night after night he converts his church into a makeshift dorm and counselling centre opening the church's doors to allow the Overnighters (as he calls them) to stay for a night a week or longer. Many who take shelter with Reinke are living on society's fringes and with chequered pasts and their presence starts affecting the dynamics of the small community. When the City Council threatens to shut the controversial Overnighters program down Reinke must make a decision which leads to profound consequences that he never imagined. Special Features: Director's commentary with Pastor Jay Reinke Deleted Scenes Theatrical Trailer [show more]
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Documentary about the North Dakota town of Williston, which has recently become a mecca for men looking for employment in the oil business. With the controversial decision to introduce fracking to North Dakota in 2008, the area has enjoyed a significant rise in employment prospects. However, with this, there has also been a huge spike in population as hundreds of people from throughout the country have come in search of work. Film-maker Jesse Moss interviews many of those who are displaced and seeking employment and gains an insight into their ambitions and backgrounds while focussing on Jay Reinke, an altruistic Lutheran pastor who has opened the doors of his church to give shelter to those in need. Reinke speaks candidly of how he believes he has become a friend and a beacon of hope to these 'overnighters', but is constantly scrutinised by the locals for putting unwelcome strain on their community.
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