Watched by Katy Sharp-Watson, American documentary The Overnighters opened the second Homeless Film Festival in East London.
This year’s Homeless Film Festival opened at Hackney’s Round Chapel with a screening of The Overnighters, a new documentary from director Jesse Moss.
Hailed as a modern day Grapes of Wrath, The Overnighters tells the story of Pastor Jay Renicke of Willisten, North Dakota, and his efforts on behalf of homeless men. The burgeoning fracking industry has brought hundreds of male migrants into Willisten in a bid to find work. Rents have soared and accommodation – always limited in this small town – is now extremely scarce, leaving many of these men homeless.
In response, Pastor Renicke opens the doors of his church and offers it as a shelter.
But this provokes a backlash from the indigenous community which remains hostile to the new arrivals. Renicke soldiers on, seeing it as his Christian duty to provide food, shelter and support. But he is also hiding a secret side to himself, and the film turns in a direction that nobody – not even Jesse Moss – could have expected.
Renicke is seen to be a fascinating man, full of charisma, who stops at nothing to ensure that homeless men retain some dignity. The film shows a side to the fracking industry which has not been seen before; and it offers a new take on an old story – the effects of big industry on life in small town America.
This is the tale of a Christian community which is put to the test – and fails. Bigotry and prejudice prevail, in spite of the spirit of resistance personified in Pastor Renicke.
The Overnighters inaugurated the second Homeless Film Festival, which combines films about homelessness with films made by homeless people.
Hackney’s Round Chapel, the festival’s premier venue, has a history of helping those in need. Today the building is used as a venue for performing arts as well as a community church, making it the perfect place to screen The Overnighters.