A Gray State - (2017) (Werner Herzog Documentary)

"A Gray State" combs through Crowley's archive of 13,000 photographs, hundreds of hours of home video, and exhaustive behind-the-scenes footage of David's work in progress to reveal what happens when a paranoid view of the government turns inward, blurring the lines of what is real and what people want to believe. About the mysterious death of "fringe" political filmmaker David Crowley, who was found dead alongside members of his family in their suburban Minnesota home in January of 2015. The film tells the story of Crowley's military service in the Middle East, his efforts to fund and make a film.

A young, budding filmmaker named David Crowley, his wife Komel and their daughter Rani, were found dead in their Apple Valley, MN home. Crowley was working on an independent film called “Gray State” which features the eerie tag line, “By consent or conquest.” He self-funded the trailer, and clips from the ambitious project — which is set in a dystopian world where a government shutdown was eminent — illustrate Crowley’s potential as a filmmaker. And, yet, the development of the project also illustrates its creator's spiraling anti-government paranoia.
Produced by Werner Herzog, showcases Crowley’s genius and madness through copious amounts of video footage and selfies. He was an advocate for Rand Paul, and in contact with alt-right radio talk show host, Alex Jones. Crowley was also a Christian, one who married a Muslim (she had a successful business and made fabulous artisanal birthday cakes on the side) without embracing Islam. His tours in Iraq and Afghanistan left him PTSD.