Set in Clinton, New York, a suburb of Utica, the film follows Koury's maladjusted teenage younger brother and his rambunctious best friend Josh, who share social and economic frustrations of living in a small town.
They express their pent-up energy and anger through pranks, loitering and mild acts of rebellion, but their friendship is ruptured when Josh's behavior spirals out of control and he gets in trouble with the law.
[2] The total budget for the finished film was reportedly U.S.$1,000 [3] Standing By Yourself had its theatrical debut in New York in May 2002, where it received strong reviews for its harsh glimpse of alienated and seemingly self-destructive youth.
Dave Kehr of the New York Times praised it as "quietly devastating" while Scott Foundas of Variety stated that Koury's work "has its finger on something particularly potent" [4] and Donald J. Levit of ReelTalk Reviews stated "Koury's unsparing art mirrors life, and one must shudder for the future.
Koury went on to co-found the Brooklyn Underground Film Festival, and returned to filmmaking in 2008 with the documentary We Are Wizards.