October Country

"Haunting. Gorgeously shot." - Ellen McCarthy, WASHINGTON POST

October Country is a beautifully rendered portrait of an American family struggling for stability while haunted by the ghosts of war, teen pregnancy, foster care and child abuse. A collaboration between filmmaker Michael Palmieri and photographer and family member Donal Mosher, this vibrant and penetrating documentary examines the forces that unsettle the working poor and the violence that lurks beneath the surface of American life.

Every family has its ghosts. The Mosher family has more than most. Shot over a year from one Halloween to the next, the film creates a stunning cinematic portrait of a family that is unique but also sadly representative of the struggles of America's working class. The film was created to be both a universal story of family struggle and a socially conscious portrait of compelling, articulate individuals grappling with the forces that tear at their homes and relationships.

Combining the access only available to a family member and the intimate visual style of a filmmaker seeing the family's dynamics for the first time, the film gives a deeply personal voice to the national issues of economic instability, domestic abuse, war trauma, and child molestation. As the Moshers do their best to confront their ghosts, the audience confronts the broader issues that haunt us all in the continued struggle for the American Dream.

"A film that seems to burrow under the psychic skin of its characters. Visually seductive and conceptually concise, it is otherworldly, haunted poetry.” - Scott Macauley, FILMMAKER MAGAZINE

"A small and quiet masterpiece of transcendent filmmaking. Every aspiring filmmaker should watch this, for it will teach you everything you need to know about the craft of making great nonfiction cinema, one where the complicity of directors and subjects creates epic eloquence and poetry and grace." - Pamela Cohn, HAMMER TO NAIL

“Intimate yet larger-than-life, this masterpiece of the everyday shows you don’t need James Cameron’s toy box to make images pop from the screen, much less to see and embrace the world anew.” (Kevin Lee, Time Out New York)

"Sensitive and poetic." - Andre Chautard, MOVING PICTURES

"Artful and intimate." - Jule Banville, WASHINGTON CITY PAPER

"Breathtaking." - Andrew Barker, VARIETY

WINNER
2010 CINEMA EYE HONORS for Debut Feature Film and Original Score

WINNER
Silverdocs Grand Jury Prize
Best US Feature

WINNER
Maysles Award
Special Jury Prize
Starz/Denver Film Festival

WINNER
Best First Feature
DocLisboa Film Festival

NOMINATED
Independent Spirit Awards
Best Documentary

NOMINATED
Gotham Award
"Best Film Not Playing in a Theater Near You"

NOMINATED
Five 2010 Cinema Eye Awards including Best Nonfiction Feature

OFFICIAL SELECTION
Los Angeles Film Festival
Locarno Film Festival
Woodstock Film Festival
True/False Film Festival
Leipzig Film Festival
St. Louis Int'l Film Festival
Camden Film Festival
Sheffield Film Festival
and many more.