CIFF Project of the Day: An American Gothic Portrait of a North Dakota Town

All this week on Indiewire’s Project of the Day column, we’ll be profiling films that have entered themselves for the Points North Pitch at the Camden International Film Festival. At the end of the week, we’ll open up the vote for Project of the Week, the winner of which will receive accomodations and a spot on the Points North Pitch at this year’s Camden International Film Festival. For more details on CIFF and Indiewire’s Project of the Day contest, click here! If you’re a filmmaker who hasn’t yet submitted to the pitch, there’s still time to submit!

Here’s your daily dose of an indie film in progress; at the end of the week, you’ll have the chance to vote for your favorite.

In the meantime: Is this a movie you’d want to see? Tell us in the comments.

“My Country, No More”

Tweetable Logline:

The true meaning of community is explored when neighbors are pitted against neighbors in this American Gothic portrait of a ND boomtown.

Elevator Pitch:

Harlan County USA meets 8 ½: A poetic documentary about what happens when an oil refinery is built on top of the community church in a North Dakota boomtown.

Production Team:

Directors: Rita Amal Baghdadi & Jeremiah Hammerling

Executive Producers: Roy Hammerling & Jeremiah Hammerling
Producer: Rita Amal Baghdadi
Editor: Bill Haugse (Academy Award Nominee, Hoop Dreams)
DP: Jeremiah Hammerling

About the Production:

Our co-director, Jeremiah Hammerling, was born in this town. Our Executive Producer, Roy Hammerling, was once the pastor of the church and the one who baptized our main character, Kalie Rider. When Kalie called us in fall of 2011, she was heartbroken at the thought of losing her community to industrialization and she said the church was in jeopardy of being turned into a diesel refinery. As if that wasn’t enough to inspire a documentary, once we landed in Trenton, we realized this story could be a metaphor for profit over people, and that church the ultimate symbol of community.

Current Status:

In production.

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