Smoke and Mirrors: A History of Denial

The Back-breaking Leaf

January 1959 •English

Here is a graphic picture of the tobacco harvest in southwestern Ontario. At the end of July, transient field workers move in for a brief bonanza when the plant is ripe. The tobacco harvesters call it "the back-breaking leaf."

Smoke Traders

October 2012 •English

Smoke Traders is an inside look at the world of the Mohawk tobacco trade.

Yellow Tobacco from Quebec

January 1951 •French

History of yellow tobacco cultivation in the regions of Joliette, Berthier and Trois-Rivières. The documentary describes the care and work required for this crop and pays tribute to the producers whose efforts have made it possible to introduce and maintain this highly specialized industrial crop in Quebec.

The Circle

August 1967 •English

Produced in 1967, this black and white film is an inmate's view of Daytop, a drug treatment centre on Staten Island, New York, where addicts learn to get along without drugs. Uncompromising, often brutal group therapy sessions are designed to shake loose the excuses a victim makes for himself. The people and situations shown are authentic; only one actor was employed. The results obtained at Daytop are regarded by some psychiatrists as a breakthrough.

Gazoros Serron

September 1974 •Greek

You Don't Know Nicotine

November 2020 •English

Amidst radical changes in nicotine use globally, one filmmaker's journey through the confusion & fear leads to a startling discovery about Earth's most hated stimulant. Society may be changed forever.

Nicotine - A Drug with a Future

September 2020 •German

The number of smokers in Europe is declining, yet the tobacco industry is still making considerable profits. Electronic innovations such as e-cigarettes and tobacco heaters play a significant role in this. Both are said to be far less harmful than conventional cigarettes. But is the aromatic steam really not a danger to our health?

The Tobacco Conspiracy: The Backroom Deals of a Deadly Industry

February 2011 •English

This French-Canadian co-production goes behind the scenes of the huge tobacco industry, whose economic power has been expanding for five decades at the expense of public health. A gripping investigation covering three continents, Nadia Collot's film exposes the vast conspiracy of a criminally negligent industry that conquers new markets through corruption and manipulation. To confront the tobacco cartel, anti-smoking groups are organizing and scoring points, but the fight remains fierce. With ist diverse viewpoints, shocking interviews and riveting images, The Tobacco Conspiracy deftly defines the issues in a complex situation where private interests and the public good collide. Enlightening and engrossing, this documentary is a hard-hitting critique of an industry gone mad.

"Früher haben wir Tabak geliefert..." - Tabakanbau in der Uckermark 1993/94

January 1997 •German

The film documents the tobacco season of 1993/94 from the planting of the tobacco through the harvest and sale until the sowing for the next season - using some small planters from the villages around Schwedt on the Oder and a large farm, the former Agricultural Co-operative in Vierraden in an exemplary manner. It describes the transformation in the technical and agricultural fields. Different planters and representatives of the Tobacco Grower's Association discuss the situation of tobacco planting in the GDR compared to current conditions and answer questions on their self-organisation and on the future of tobacco cultivation in the Uckermark.

Lynchburg at War

Invalid date •English

Lynchburg at War is a documentary film following the events of the Civil War in Lynchburg, Virginia.

The Insider

October 1999 •English

A research chemist comes under personal and professional attack when he decides to appear in a 60 Minutes exposé on Big Tobacco.

King Size

January 1968 •English

This short animation about the perils of tobacco smoking takes us to the kingdom of King Size, a land where "no smoking" is illegal. Here, intoxication dangers and health risks linked to cigarettes are blissfully ignored, and non-smokers are unwelcome. A humorous invitation for young people not to start smoking, or if they have, to relinquish the hazardous habit.

Blue in the Face

September 1995 •English

Auggie runs a small tobacco shop in Brooklyn, New York. The whole neighborhood comes to visit him to buy cigarettes and have some small talk. During the movie Lou Reed tries to explain why he has to have a cut on his health insurance bill if he keeps smoking and Madonna acts as a Singing Telegram.

Thank You for Smoking

September 2005 •English

Nick Naylor is a charismatic spin-doctor for Big Tobacco who'll fight to protect America's right to smoke -- even if it kills him -- while still remaining a role model for his 12-year old son. When he incurs the wrath of a senator bent on snuffing out cigarettes, Nick's powers of "filtering the truth" will be put to the test.

The Wedding Night

March 1935 •English

While working on a novel in his country home in Connecticut, married writer Tony Barrett (Cooper) becomes attracted to Manya (Sten), the daughter of a neighboring farmer. Manya is unhappily engaged to Frederik (Bellamy). Due to a snowstorm, Tony and Manya are trapped together in his house overnight. The next day, Manya's father insists her wedding to Frederik take place in spite of Manya's misgivings. Drunkenness and jealousy result in tragedy at the wedding reception that night.

Hold Back the Dawn

September 1941 •English

Romanian-French gigolo Georges Iscovescu wishes to enter the USA. Stopped in Mexico by the quota system, he decides to marry an American, then desert her and join his old partner Anita, who's done likewise. But after sweeping teacher Emmy Brown off her feet, he finds her so sweet that love and jealousy endanger his plans.

West of the Pecos

August 1945 •English

Heading west for his health, Colonel Lambeth takes his daughter Rill along. Lost on the desert they are saved by Pecos and Chito. The Colonel hires the two and the Lambeths soon find themselves mixed up in Pecos' trouble. Pecos has killed Sawtelle's brother and Sawtelle as head of the vigilantes is after him.

Bright Leaf

June 1950 •English

Two tobacco growers battle for control of the cigarette market.

Sundown

October 1941 •English

Englishmen fighting Nazis in Africa discover an exotic mystery woman living among the natives and enlist her aid in overcoming the Germans.

Burning

January 1979 •

Small village farmers grow tobacco which they are forced to sell to the government for next-to-nothing prices. This repeats with Italians during the WW2, and with the communists after the war. Boiling point is getting high.