Bright Leaves

Ross McElwee:
As time goes by, my father is beginning to seem less and less real to me in these images. Almost a fictional character. I want so much to reverse this shift, the way in which the reality of him is slipping away. Having this footage doesn't help very much - or, at least, not as much as I thought it would.

Allan Gurganus:
Forbes Magazine and other national periodicals name this state as the great place to move, and I swear the day after the magazine comes out, you can see a difference in traffic patterns. For me, as somebody who grew up connected to a piece of property, albeit one that's now transformed into a trailer park, the idea that you would move to a place because a magazine that you bought for $3.95 *told* you to, is a symptom of such sadness in the culture, I cannot tell you. And it's also gumming up this place for those of us who love it.

Miss Tobacco:
[on being asked about the tobacco industry] It brings a lotta jobs and a lotta revenue, but... it has its health hazards and... everybody's gonna die of something, so... [giggles]

Ross McElwee:
May as well be tobacco?

Miss Tobacco:
Might as well die of something that's gonna help out the... the... *what's* the word? Here, I'm thinkin'...

Ross McElwee:
Economy?

Miss Tobacco:
[beams] *There* ya go. There ya go. Havin' a tough mornin'...