Ross McElwee travels through the North Carolina tobacco belt in search of the ancient southern traditions associated with tobacco growing and use, while comparing his filmmaking to commercial cinema, represented by Bright Leaf, a melodrama directed by Michael Curtiz in 1950, starring Gary Cooper, apparently based on the life of his great-grandfather.

Bright Leaves

A producer afflicted with a debilitating curse can only be cured by the reporter who despises him. Ths story is a modern day Beauty and the Beast or "When Harry Met Sally" watching "The X Files" in jail.