Feature Documentary
Moon provided additional editing
Directed by Rita Baghdadi and Jeremiah Hammerling
WINNER OF Big Sky Film Festival - BEST FEATURE 2018
They stood for their neighbors when they could have cashed in on their land. Will their choice cost them both? Between 2011 and 2016, oil drilling in rural North Dakota reached its peak, setting off a modern-day gold rush in the quiet, tight-knit farm town of Trenton, North Dakota, population less than 1000. With billions of dollars to be gained in an industry-friendly state with a “reasonable regulation” climate, small towns like Trenton became overwhelmed by an influx of workers, and countless acres of farmland were repurposed for industrial development. Through the voices of Trenton’s residents, My Country No More challenges the notion of “progress” and questions the long-term human consequences of short-term approaches to land use, decisions that ultimately affect all Americans, rural and urban alike. Following the rise and fall of the oil boom in North Dakota, the film paints a portrait of a rural American community in crisis split by a high-stakes divide.