Spike Lee and actress-director Joan Chen (The Last Emperor) have boarded Liz Rao’s debut live-action short film The Truck, a coming-of-age thriller, as executive producers. It deals with the impact of the June 2022 U.S. Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, ending nearly 50 years of U.S. constitutional protections for abortion.
“Set against the simmering anxieties of post-Roe America, The Truck follows a Chinese American teenager and her boyfriend as they attempt to buy the morning-after pill in a small town where reproductive rights are contested and quietly policed,” reads a synopsis of the short.
Produced by Eliza Soros, the film stars Shirley Chen (Beast Beast, Didi), Daniel Zolghadri (Eighth Grade, Funny Pages), and Garrett Richmond.
“Liz Rao’s The Truck is an urgent, gripping look at teen love and the freedom to choose in this America right now,” said Lee. “Rao is the latest talent in my 30 years of teaching at the NYU Graduate Film School. Liz Rao brings her unique vision as a screenwriter and director who is unafraid to provoke and dares to speak truth to power, and does it in high style.”
Said Chen: “In The Truck, Liz Rao’s striking voice as writer and director transforms a coming-of-age tale into a visceral look at power dynamics in America. With poetry and courage, The Truck offers a pressing and much-needed perspective on our current moment. Evoking layered and nuanced performances from Shirley Chen and Daniel Zolghadri as two love-crossed teenagers in trouble, The Truck brings to life a quietly chilling and powerful story.”
Explains director Rao: “As we move into uncharted territory in America and across the world, our universal rights to love and to freedom face unprecedented challenges. I grew up in Tennessee and in Chicago, as the daughter of immigrants from Southern China. My films embrace the romance of Americana, while at the same time, give voice to the perils of everyday life here.”
She concludes: “The Truck draws on my own raw experiences in order to shed light on a shared story. When change forces us to find new footing, we also get a chance to redefine our collective path forward.”
The Truck world-premiered at Telluride, screened at MoMA, won the Grand Jury Prize at the Oscar-qualifying Florida Film Festival, and also won the best screenplay honor at Flickers’ Rhode Island International Film Festival.
Check out a trailer for The Truck below.
