Production house Disorderly Conduct has signed director Jesse Moss for commercials and branded content. Earlier this year, Moss’ documentary The Overnighters won a Special Jury Prize for Intuitive Filmmaking at the Sundance Film Festival. The Overnighters was also nominated for Sundance’s Grand Jury Prize in Documentary.
The Overnighters is an intimate portrait of job seekers desperately chasing the broken American Dream to the tiny oil boomtown of Williston, North Dakota. With the town lacking the infrastructure to house the overflow of migrants, a local pastor starts the controversial “overnighters” program, allowing down-and-out workers a place to sleep at the church. His well-meaning project immediately runs into resistance from his community, forcing the clergyman to make a decision, which leads to profound consequences that he never imagined.
Following Sundance, Disorderly Conduct executive producer Ron Cicero first began speaking with Moss about expanding into advertising projects. Also after Sundance, The Overnighters continued on the festival circuit garnering the Inspiration Award at the Full Frame Fest, the Golden Gate Award for Best Documentary at the San Francisco International Film Festival, and playing at such events as Tribeca and Hot Docs.
The Overnighters–which is distributed by Drafthouse Films and begins its nationwide theatrical run this month–adds to a far reaching lineup of documentaries shot, directed and produced by Moss, including Con Man, Speedo: A Demolition Love Story, and Full Battle Rattle.
“I’m drawn to unique, complicated and often conflicted characters ” related Moss. “Digging beneath the surface, their stories reveal emotional, surprising, funny and universally resonant truths about American life.” He added, “My work reflects an equal concern for the structure of dramatic storytelling and the surprise of the spontaneous moments and unexpected possibilities that define unscripted filmmaking.”
Moss said he is excited to make his foray into branded work via Disorderly Conduct, with its highly curated roster and connections to both the advertising and feature film worlds. Moss joins a directorial lineup at Disorderly Conduct which includes Brett Foraker, Daniel Levy, Jan Wentz, Luis Gerard, Eric Stoltz and Francesco Calabrese.
“Jesse has an instinctive ability to find and connect with people whose stories translate magnificently on screen,” explains Cicero. “He’s a thoughtful storyteller who is adept at bridging the narrative and the core brand idea and creating content that people relate to in a very honest and compelling way.”
Founded in 2013 by co-CEOs Kate Cohen and Marisa Polvino and EP Cicero, Disorderly Conduct is sister company to film development and production company Straight Up Films. Supporting a roster of prominent directing talent, Disorderly Conduct collaborates with leading advertising agencies and entertainment brands to create commercial content for play on mobile screens to movie screens and everything in between.
In June, Disorderly Conduct’s Integrated Campaign created by Hill Holliday and directed by Eric Stoltz (Glee, Nashville, Believe), for non-profit The Partnership for Drug-Free Kids, was honored with a Gold Lion at the first-ever Lions Health Awards. The company has also produced commercials and brand work for such clients as Audi, Nike, MTN, Jeep, Dunkin Donuts and Ford. Sister Company Straight Up Films develops and produces feature films including Transcendence, Jane Got A Gun, The Door In The Floor, Away From Here, Manos Sucias, A Shot At Glory, and I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead.
