"The road movie re-imagined as a subtle, insightful, funny critique of America's place in the world." - as described by a jury consisting of Actress/Filmmaker Joan Chen, New York Times film columnist Dave Kehr, and Los Angeles Magazine Senior Writer Amy Wallace.

As described by the Los Angeles Film Festival: Paxton Winters' first feature, Paul Schneider (Lars and the Real Girl, The Assassination of Jesse James) and David Connolly (13 Conversations About One Thing) portray two hapless, slightly dim backpackers making their way through Europe. After losing their money in Turkey, they hatch a scheme to find and interview a terrorist, in hopes of selling the results. When this proves tougher than they figured, they just settle on faking their own kidnapping. Funny, flaky, and willfully off beat, this is a remarkably assured film about a pair of schemers stumbling through life."

CRUDE won the 2003 IFP Los Angeles Film Festival Jury Award Winner for Best Dramatic Feature and was also awarded the 2003 Seattle Film Festival’s Special Jury Award in New American Cinema.

Crude short synopsis
Two restless Americans in search of a bit of inspiration and adventure, discover a mysterious country rich in beauty and intrigue. Weaving their way from Istanbul to the Iranian/Syrian borders of southeast Turkey they find themselves on a road trip with a wealthy Turk when prospects of a bigger plan quickly lead them off-course. Shot on location in Turkey, ‘Crude’ takes a satirical look at patriotism, globalism, and media sensationalism.