Welcome to Leith, is a gritty piece of cinematic journalism that is meant to hurl the viewers into the center of an environment that is teetering on the edge of sanity, and about to topple into a pit of violence and anarchy. Directors Michael Beach Nichols and Christopher K. Walker made it a point to convey a sense of commonality between the residents of Leith, N.D. and viewers of the movie.

Leith is a city in Grant County, North Dakota, and according to the film, has a population of only 24 people. While to some, Leith may not qualify as a city, to the folks of Leith, and to similar cities, it has a unique charm and a “Small Town, USA” feel about it. The town doesn’t offer much in the form of entertainment, but the Leith Bar sits on Main Street and it is there that neighbors greet one another after a hard day of work and talk about the goings-on in town.

When Craig Cobb, a white supremacist, begins buying parcels of land in Leith and moves in, the quiet town starts spiraling into madness. At first he was treated as an awkward and strange old man, but soon he reveals his plan for Leith. With Cobb comes other well-known white supremacists and leaders of the National Socialist Movement, a Neo-Nazi party that is headquartered in Detroit, MI. Cobb also brings along Kynan Dutton, a wiry, young supremacist, to act as his enforcer of sorts, and help intimidate the people of Leith. Cobb’s ultimate goal is to turn the city of Leith into a haven for White Supremacists, taking the town’s small government by running out the small community. Needless to say, the directors are able to collect and capture footage of Cobb’s harassment of the residents, all of it culminating in a very tense and scary situation for the town.

Nichols and Walker refused to let the shock end there though, as they invited Cobb to attend the Sundance premiere via Skype to participate in the film’s Q & A session. This brought some laughter from the audience, but was quickly drowned out by the sea of booing and jeers. One lady even proclaimed that she “loved the film, but this [Cobb’s appearance] is disgusting.” Cobb’s answers to many of the questions were so absurd that it felt as if you had fallen to down the same hole as Alice.

The film is a cautionary tale for small cities like Lieth, and is reveals a culture that many would like to believe had died out by this time in our nation. It is an unsettling truth, but it is one that those who live within the boundaries of a civilized culture must be aware of.