Welcome to Leith
{{short description|2015 documentary film}}
{{italic title}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2016}}
{{Infobox film
| name = Welcome to Leith
| image = Welcome to Leith POSTER.jpg
| alt =
| caption = Theatrical release poster
| director = {{plainlist|
- Michael Beach Nichols
- Christopher K. Walker
}}
| producer = {{plainlist|
- Joey Carey
- Jenner Furst
- Michael Beach Nichols
- Christopher K. Walker
- Joshua Woltermann
}}
| writer = {{plainlist|
- Michael Beach Nichols
- Christopher K. Walker
}}
| music = T. Griffin
| cinematography = Michael Beach Nichols
| editing = {{plainlist|
- Michael Beach Nichols
- Christopher K. Walker
- Joshua Woltermann
}}
| studio = {{Plainlist|
- No Weather
- Sundial Pictures
}}
| distributor = First Run Features
| released = {{Film date|2015|01|25|Sundance|2015|03|13|SXSW|2015|09|09}}
| runtime = 86 minutes{{cite web | url=http://www.bbfc.co.uk/releases/welcome-leith-film | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160205233448/http://www.bbfc.co.uk/releases/welcome-leith-film | url-status=dead | archive-date=February 5, 2016 | title=WELCOME TO LEITH (15) | work=British Board of Film Classification | date=February 4, 2016 | accessdate=February 4, 2016}}
| country = United States
| language = English
| budget =
| gross = $36,010{{cite web | url=http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=welcometoleith.htm | title=Welcome to Leith (2015) | work=Box Office Mojo | publisher=Internet Movie Database | date=December 17, 2015 | accessdate=February 5, 2016}}
}}
Welcome to Leith is a 2015 American documentary film directed by Michael Beach Nichols and Christopher K. Walker about white supremacist Craig Cobb's attempt to take over the North Dakota city Leith. The film premiered on January 26, 2015 at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival and, after a limited theatrical release on September 9, was broadcast on PBS' series Independent Lens on April 4, 2016.{{cite news|last1=Olsen|first1=Mark|title=Sundance 2015: White supremacist guest leads to heated 'Welcome to Leith' Q&A|url=http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/moviesnow/la-et-mn-sundance-2015-welcome-to-leith-controversy-20150130-story.html#page=1|accessdate=February 9, 2015|date=January 30, 2015}}{{Cite web |title=Welcome to Leith {{!}} Documentary about White Supremacists in North Dakota {{!}} Independent Lens {{!}} PBS |url=https://www.pbs.org/independentlens/documentaries/welcome-to-leith/ |access-date=2023-06-07 |website=Independent Lens |language=en-US}}
Background
Leith is a town which had a population of 16 in 2010.{{cite web|title=2010 Census Redistricting Data (Public Law 94-171) Summary File|url=http://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=DEC_10_PL_GCTPL2.ST13&prodType=table|work=American FactFinder|publisher=United States Census Bureau|accessdate=February 10, 2015}}{{dead link|bot=medic|date=April 2020}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} In May 2012, Craig Cobb, an American Canadian neo-Nazi, moved to Leith with the intention of building a community of people sharing the ideology of neo-Nazism and gaining the electoral majority.{{cite news|last1=Eligon|first1=John|title=New Neighbor's Agenda: White Power Takeover|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/30/us/white-supremacists-plan-angers-a-north-dakota-town.html?pagewanted=all|accessdate=February 10, 2015|date=August 29, 2013}} He purchased 12 plots of land.{{cite news|last1=Facchinei|first1=Bianca|title=North Dakota Town Issues Building Ban On White Supremacy Takeover|url=http://www.hngn.com/articles/15979/20131028/craig-cobb-north-dakota-american-freedom-party-leith-north-dakota-real-estate-leith-north-dakota-cobb-craig-cobb-leith-nd.htm|accessdate=February 10, 2015|date=October 28, 2013}}
Production
Nichols and Walker, who are based in New York, flew to North Dakota two months after they read an August 2013 New York Times article about Craig Cobb's scheme to transform Leith into a white-supremacist town.{{cite web|title=Michael Beach Nichols & Christopher K. Walker Filmmakers of the Sundance feature documentary WELCOME TO LEITH|url=http://www.miramax.com/subscript/meet-michael-beach-nichols-christopher-k-walker/|website=Miramax|accessdate=January 10, 2015}} They made three trips to Leith within an 8-month period, each around 4 weeks long, for the production of the film.{{cite web|last1=Macaulay|first1=Scott|title=Five Questions for Welcome to Leith Directors Michael Beach Nichols & Christopher K. Walker|url=http://filmmakermagazine.com/92560-five-questions-for-welcome-to-leith-directors-michael-beach-nichols-christopher-k-walker/#.VNlCfvmsW_U|website=Filmmaker|accessdate=February 9, 2015}} 5 months were spent editing the film.{{cite web|url=http://welcometoleithfilm.com/|title=Welcome to Leith|website=|accessdate=February 10, 2015}} In June 2014 Nichols and Walker launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise funds for the production of the film. They surpassed their $60,000 goal, raising $64,751.{{cite web|last1=Beach Nichols|first1=Michael|title=WELCOME TO LEITH - Feature Documentary|url=https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/903839421/welcome-to-leith-feature-documentary|website=Kickstarter|accessdate=January 10, 2015}} The directors approached the project in many ways as a documentary version of a horror/western—the residents of Leith were scared and confused and felt as if one wrong move could end in violence. They aimed to capture the sense of fear and isolation that residents living in a town of 24 people 70 miles from anything experienced when Cobb made his takeover intentions public.
Reception
On July 25, 2017, Welcome to Leith was nominated for an Emmy for Best Documentary by the News & Doc Emmy Awards.{{cite web|title=NOMINEES FOR THE 38TH ANNUAL NEWS & DOCUMENTARY EMMY® AWARDS ANNOUNCED|url=http://emmyonline.com/news_38th_nominations|website=EmmyOnline|accessdate=July 25, 2017}} The film received largely positive reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, it holds a 98% score based on 43 reviews, with an average rating of 7.7/10. The site's consensus states: "As disturbing as it is thought-provoking, Welcome to Leith offers an uncomfortable — and essential — glimpse into a part of society many Americans would much rather ignore."{{cite web | url=http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/welcome_to_leith/ | title=Welcome to Leith (2015) | work=Rotten Tomatoes | publisher=Flixster | accessdate=February 5, 2016}} Metacritic reports a 78 out of 100 rating based on 16 critics.{{cite web | url=http://www.metacritic.com/movie/welcome-to-leith | title=Welcome to Leith reviews | work=Metacritic | publisher=CBS Interactive | accessdate=February 5, 2016}}
Indiewire critic Eric Kohn gave the documentary an A− grade, described it as "a stunning portrait of First Amendment rights pushed to their extremes".{{cite web|last1=Kohn|first1=Eric|title=Sundance Review: White Supremacist Takes Over Small Town in Mesmerizing Doc 'Welcome to Leith'|url=http://www.indiewire.com/2015/01/sundance-review-white-supremacist-takes-over-small-town-in-mesmerizing-doc-welcome-to-leith-65509/|website=Indiewire|accessdate=January 29, 2015}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb title|3962848}}
- {{Mojo title|welcometoleith}}
- {{Rotten Tomatoes|welcome_to_leith}}
- {{Metacritic film}}
- [http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/films/welcome-to-leith/ Welcome to Leith] at Independent Lens
{{DEFAULTSORT:Welcome To Leith}}
Category:2015 documentary films
Category:American documentary films
Category:American independent films
Category:Documentary films about racism in the United States
Category:Films shot in North Dakota
Category:Films set in North Dakota
Category:Grant County, North Dakota
Category:Kickstarter-funded documentaries
Category:Neo-Nazism in the United States
Category:First Run Features films
Category:Documentary films about North Dakota
Category:2010s English-language films