Grants & Awards

About the Film:

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. This vibrant and intimate 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 – some metaphorical, some literal. The Mosher family has more than most. Shot over a year from one Halloween to the next, the film uses rich visual metaphors and floats through multiple storylines to paint a portrait of a family who are unique but also sadly representative of the struggles of America’s working class.

About the Filmmakers:

Michael comes from an extensive background as a director of music videos, commercials, short films, and episodic television. He is perhaps best known for his music video collaborations with artists such as Beck, The Strokes, Belle and Sebastian and the New Pornographers. He is a frequent collaborator with other filmmakers as a director of photography, editor, and post supervisor. His work includes collaborations with artists as diverse as the cinematographer Christopher Doyle, the writer, journalist and cartoonist Garry Trudeau, the fine artist Tauba Auerbach, and the documentary filmmaker Rob Epstein. He is an adjunct professor of film at CCA in San Francisco and resides in Portland, Oregon. More of his work can be found at michaelpalmieri.com.

Donal Mosher is a photographer, writer, and musician. His photo documentary work inspired the film October Country. Portions of the project have been shown in Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco’s SF Camerawork as well as online at the Marjorie Wood Gallery. His fiction and non-fiction writings have appeared in Instant City, Satellite, Frozen Tears and Still Blue, an anthology of working class writing. He is also a principle subject of Robert Arnold’s documentary film “Key of G,” which focuses on life and work with a severely disabled young man. Selections of his writings and photographic work can be found at ghostype.blogspot.com and donalmosher.com.

Festival & Award Highlights:

Los Angeles 2009 – World Premiere
SILVERDOCS 2009 – Grand Jury Prize Winner
Doc Lisboa 2009 – Best First Feature
Entreveus Grand Prix – Best Documentary
Starz/Denver 2009 – Maysles Award Special Jury Prize
Belfast 2010 – Maysles Documentary Prize

Gotham Awards 2009 – Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You (nom)
Independent Spirit Awards 2010 – Best Documentary (nom)