The sound rises up from the American South, rolling, lilting across the land, travelling its broad deltas and vast plains. It is the sound of tobacco being auctioned. “Lemme hear, what do I hear, lemme hear, hear, hear”. Against the backdrop of the auctioneer's smooth, reassuring cadence, tobacco leaves make their journey from the farmer's field to the curing barn. “What do I hear, what do I hear, what do I hear hear hear?”

The sound of tobacco being sold is but the mood setting prelude to an extraordinary film. Smoke and mirrors: a history of denial tells the story of tobacco in the United States, from its role as the colonies' first cash crop to its current status as the globe's corporate “public enemy number 1”.

Director Torrie Rosenzweig, who co-wrote and co-produced the film with Elise Pearlstein, offers up thoughtful interviews …