The Overnighters

When shale extraction started in Williston, North Dakota, thousands of unemployed men poured in looking for work. The town had nowhere to put them. Jay Reinke, pastor of Concordia Lutheran Church, opened the door: those who came could sleep on the church floor, in the car park, and in his own house. The town objected; some of the arrivals had records and nobody knew who their neighbour was. Jesse Moss stayed at the church and filmed for eighteen months. The documentary's strength is that it does not simplify the sides: the pastor's stubbornness is shown as much as his goodness, and the townspeople's legitimate worry as much as their fear. The final section takes the narrative somewhere unexpected and closes on a personal disclosure by the pastor about his own life. The film won a special jury prize at the Sundance Film Festival in 2014. Who it's for: Viewers who like American social documentary, narratives of labour migration, and films carrying moral complication. Who it's not for: The subject is heavy and offers no hope. That the camera is present at some very private moments is also ethically arguable.