Bright Leaves (film)

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Bright Leaves is a documentary by independent film-maker Ross McElwee about the association his family had in the past with the Tobacco industry.

Bright Leaf is the name of strain of Tobacco. Bright Leaf is also the name of a 1950 feature film about a struggle between two Tobacco barons (Patricia Neal, one of the film's stars, is interviewed). The struggle in that film, according to McElwee family tradition, parallels the historical struggle between McElwee's great-grandfather and the patriarch of the Duke family who founded Duke University.

The film follows McElwee's usual style, where he gives voiceovers to apparently spontaneous footage, making the film appear very personal.