Crude Independence

Running time: 71 mins

Is an oil boom a windfall or the downfall of a prototypical American small town?

The discovery of oil has made the town of Stanley, North Dakota the focal point for a new kind of Gold Rush. With breathtaking and evocative images, we meet the people of Stanley, as well as the interlopers who are coming into town to either harvest the mother load or rape the land, depending on one's point of view.

Crude Independence is much more than a portrait of just another small town in the middle of nowhere. As the citizens of Stanley attempt to cope with the overwhelming change that is occurring to their town, they are forced to confront the fact that the small town they love may only still exist in their minds. And for all the economic benefits that modernization can bring, the loss of a way of life can be a mighty price to pay.