Oil Sands Karaoke: a rich portrait of the people who work in Fort McMurray

Director Charles Wilkinson provides a novel look at the oil sands and the culture of Fort McMurray, Alta., with this slow but often insightful documentary about five residents competing in a karaoke competition at a local pub.

Some of them dream of being professional signers, while some drive trucks bigger than you could imagine in the oil patch.

The contest itself doesn't afford much tension, but the lives of contestants offers a rich portrait of the people who live and work in Fort McMurray, showing the rarely seen human side of working in one of the most environmentally maligned areas of the country, if not the world.

It shows Wilkinson is an assured filmmaker who avoids the pitfalls of made-for-TV clichés.