PAPERTOWN refers to the town of Canton, North Carolina, whose economy revolves around a local paper mill, owned by Pactiv Evergreen. The town's got less than 4,500 people and 1,200 of them work for the mill. When Pactiv unceremoniously announces the mill's closure within a few months, the town reels, scrambling to understand how their lives, businesses, schools will be affected by the ripple of the mill's absence.

Director Jeremy Seifert d. oesn't harp on an elegy to this way of life, rather focusing on the communal bonds that remain. It strips away the bond of coworkers into something more human, something stemmed out of common culture and neighborliness. As America increasingly becomes a post-industrial nation, what is to come of these often rural manufacturing centers? How does economy influence sociology?

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PAPERTOWN is currently playing at Mountainfilm 2026 in Telluride, Colorado.

Listen to my interview with director Jeremy Seifert here

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