Split Estate (2009)

With cries from Washington for more domestic gas and oil production, the citizens of Garfield County, CO, find themselves in the path of an unstoppable rush to drill which threatens to destroy their health, homes, and community.

Director:

Debra Anderson

Writers:

Joe Day, Rene Garrett (as Avery Garrett) ,

Stars:

Ali MacGraw

1 win.

Cast

Credited cast:
Ali MacGraw	...	Narrator (voice)

Storyline

Emmy-award winning documentary on oil and gas drilling in the Rockys & the Northeast. Imagine discovering that you don't own the mineral rights under your land, and that an energy company plans to drill for natural gas two hundred feet from your front door. Imagine you have little or no recourse to protect your home or land from such development.

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Plot Keywords:

environmental issues | contamination | mining | 

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Genres:

Documentary

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Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 August 2009 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Colorado, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Red Rock Pictures (I)

Technical Specs

Color:

Color

User Reviews

A must see for industry insiders and laypeople alike.

I'll get a couple of disclaimers out of the way. I live in one of the areas depicted in the film, and I have a professional job, highly dependent on the oil and gas industry.

I saw the television premier of Split Estate a few days ago. Being an industry insider, I had heard a lot of anticipation buzzing around the field about the movie, most of it negative. I wanted to see it for myself and formulate my own opinions before hearing about it from others. Let me just say I was impressed.

The filmmakers did an incredible job of visually portraying the size and scope of oil and gas production in the western US. The dramatic aerial shots showed the enormity of the operations in progress that someone on the ground cannot see.

I felt the film was quite balanced considering the press that it's been given. I thought the scientist's were believable and not agenda driven. The ConocoPhillips representative was and especially good speaker both defending the industry and acknowledging that there were still issues to be solved. This movie is in stark contrast to the horribly one sided, factually incorrect and finger pointing Gas Land

My main complaint about the film was it's lack of hard data. Sure it's easy to believe there are potential negative impacts to the environment when you see gas bubbling up from a stream that is subsequently lit on fire, But is that gas surfacing as a result of human exploration or natural processes? The several scenes depicting sick families did not provide convincing enough proof to indicate that their health problems were indeed oil and gas related.

Split Estate raises more questions than the answers it provides. Yes there are environmental and health effects, yes people are displaced. We will have to see what the public, industry and law makers ultimately do about it.

Weather you are a livelong industry worker, a resident in oil producing areas or a complete outsider whose only interaction with natural gas is using your stove to heat your morning tea, regardless of politics or perceptions...see Split Estate.