Tobacco Blues (1998) [N/A]
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Featuring:
Harry Dean Stanton
Directed by:
Christine Fugate
Release Date:
October 31, 1998
Original Title:
Tobacco Blues
Genres:
Documentary
Ratings / Certifications:
N/A
Runtime: 55
Can a good person grow tobacco? As the cigarette war rages, small American tobacco farmers have been the often overlooked casualties. Dynamic filmmaking duo Eren McGinnis and Christine Fugate travel across Kentucky to meet the families who have been growing this crop for generations, as they face the consequences of this fuming controversy in their own backyards.
This documentary looks at four tobacco-farming families in Kentucky, to see how they are dealing with the current situation. Tobacco is a cash crop not easily replaced in the poor Appalachian region where most tobacco is grown. The farmers want the public to realize that they are not evil--the farmers are just trying to make a living the best way they know how. But while the tobacco companies continue to increase their overseas production, over 125,000 tobacco farmers are projected to lose a significant portion of their income during the next 5 years. This documentary looks at how the four families are coping with the possible loss of their farms, their livelihoods, and their lifestyle.
