Oil in the Family is a multi-faceted documentary that weaves together family history, a cinematic legend, and our cultures insatiable appetite for oil in its many incarnations. New England filmmaker Jon Goldman traces his roots (and familys wealth) back to a Louisiana oil field and explores his grandmothers connection to the 1948 documentary Louisiana Story. Produced by Robert Flaherty, widely considered the father of the American documentary, Louisiana Story is an elegiac portrayal of an oil companys incursion into the pristine Louisiana bayou country; alternately celebrated and derided, the documentary was commissioned by the Standard Oil Company.
Goldman undertakes an odyssey to retrace Flahertys steps.
Characters in the film include Richard Leacock, Flahertys cinematographer and JC Bourdreaux, the boy star of Louisiana Story, now a 73-year-old man living on the bayou in a FEMA trailer. Goldmans personal journey is intertwined with an exploration of both the history of oil production in the U.S. and our dependence on the Gulf Coast states (including Louisiana) which host almost 90% of Americas offshore oil and gas supply and are connected to 50% of the nations refining capacity. Including candid interviews with experts on all sides of the energy debate, Oil in the Family refuses didacticism or simple answers to a global problem for which we are all accountable.