PAY DIRT: Alberta's Oil Sands Centuries in the Making tells of the discovery and development of the Athabasca oil sands, from their early use by First Nations peoples to the current mega-projects working to develop oil reserves for the foreseeable future. The documentary follows the historic path by which the Alberta oil sands went from discovery to economically viable production. First technologically, and then socially and environmentally, the industry has moved onto the threshold of widespread development. As early as 1883, extracting the oil from the sand was attempted. Scientists working out of a tiny university basement laboratory made the first breakthrough in the 1920s. In the following decades, the increasing need for petroleum resulted in entrepreneurial trial and error and determined advancement. Today, Canada has become one of the world's top oil-supplying countries.