NYC reader, if you can’t get into the Map the Soul Tour, head over the Quad Cinemas for Ghosts of the Heartland. Here’s the synopsis for Ghosts of the Heartland:
It is the summer of 1952. We are at war with China and Chinese Americans are ill at ease, as they know what happened to Japanese Americans a few years before. As the ‘red scare’ of the McCarthy era gains momentum, people are worried and they don’t feel safe. As this oppressive atmosphere permeates the country, Chinese American reporter, Roland Lu (Phil Moon), returns to his hometown of Millville. Things are not as he remembers. Millville is now a scary place.
As Roland strolls down Main Street on his first night in town, a Chinese man himself in front of city hall. Roland smells a story and seems a lot more concerned about hat story than he is about the dead man. He soon learns that below the surface, Millville is full of interracial relationships that could tear the lid off the town. Roland also learns the Chinese are gradually being fired from their jobs.
Roland suspects that his old nemesis, Mayor Frank Dugan (Michael Santoro), is plotting to take the Chinese’ property from them… Why? Frank is a bully, a thief, a McCarthyite thug, the editor of the Millville Chronicle and the mayor of the town. The only thing Frank hates more than communists is Chinese reporters. To add to his problems, Roland’s old girl friend, Liz (Rosanna Ma), thinks Roland wants to be a success, so he can be accepted into white society. She fears that Roland will sell out her family and all of the Chinese for a shot at the Pulitzer.
More info about the movie here.
Ghosts of the Heartland Trailer