| The Maysles Brothers Documentary Competition winner at this year’s Festival was ‘October Country’, directed by Michael Palmieri and Donal Mosher.
Jury members included Alison Millar (Dir. At Home With the Cleary’s) Eva Weber (Dir. City of Cranes) and Daniel Jewesbury (visual artist and filmmaker).
Shot over the course of a year from one Hallowe’en to the next, the film presents three generations of a working class American family in upstate New York. The film details many of the personal trials and tribulations of the Mosher family but, on a universal level, provides an honest insight into what is often too simply described as America’s obsession with violence. Engrossing, rich, multi-layered and stunning to watch, this first feature leaves you feeling like you’ve read a seriously good book. ‘October Country’, was the winner of Best US Documentary AFI, Silverdocs
“An uncompromising film that nevertheless, presents each of its characters with warmth and sympathy and presents their struggles meaningfully for the viewer, portrayed in a lyrical, poignant and beautiful way.”
Maysles Brothers Documentary Competition, Jury statement.
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