Exploring the Complicated Personal Drama of Pastor Jay Reinke in THE OVERNIGHTERS

Filmmaker Jesse Moss talks about juggling directing, cinematography and sound duties on his new documentary The Overnighters, which captures an intimate portrait of a North Dakota oil boom town that attracts residents seeking fortunes from black gold.

His main focus in the film is a local pastor named Jay Reinke, who opens the doors to his church to accommodate those not able to find affordable housing in the overpopulated town of Williston. But eventually, Reinke’s seemingly selfless pursuit to help local residents is vehemently resisted by locals, church members and his own family.

Moss said that while his initial intention was to make a film about the almost romantic classic American tale of people running off to the boom town to reinvent themselves and start a new life. But he stumbled upon Pastor Reinke and quickly decided he had a dramatic figure for the movie.

“When I got there, I suddenly really discovered him - as the embodiment of this community and this story. Really this man who was struggling to help these people, and struggling to balance the needs of the community that’s really buckling under the transformation that it’s going through as a result of the oil boom.”

He said he was looking for someone to focus on who could really capture the attention of the camera and has charisma and is a complicated and conflicted individual – all qualities Reinke possessed.

“When I first met Jay, one of the first things he told me was that no one has pure motives. And I liked that, I didn’t want Jay to hold himself up as a saint or a martyr in his act of charity.”

Even though it was clear that the reason Reinke open his doors to anyone who needed it – in some cases even ex-convicts – was because of his Christian charity to love thy neighbor.

“Guys come dragging their criminal records behind them looking to make new lives. So on one hand Jay’s decision to embrace them is just his faith, but I felt like in talking to him that it was coming from a place in his heart beyond his faith, and that was the mystery of Jay.”

In fact, Reinke is seen in the film offering up nearly superhuman compassion - and in doing so, essentially turns his back on his neighbors, the congregation and his own family to help these desperate people seeking assistance.

“What motivates a person to do that?” Moss asks. “It’s not just charity, it’s something deep that’s driving him and that was what kept me coming back to Jay and kept me going in the story – what is it?”

He adds that eventually the documentary does get to the bottom of what was driving Reinke’s “deep psychological, emotional, need” for him to create a kind of alternative family of men and women he didn’t know.

The filmmaker also explains how embarking on the project alone – and even sleeping himself in the church with other “overnighters” for about six months - gave him unprecedented access to the intimate struggles of those around him, as well as the troubled circumstances Reinke found himself in.

Watch the full interview to see clips from the film and to also hear Moss discuss the personal inspiration he found filming The Overnighters despite the long filming schedule and funding issues.