We Pedal Uphill
STORIES FROM THE STATES
Written, Directed & Scored by
Roland Tec

This feature film is composed of 13 discrete vignettes of varying lengths and tones.
What follows is an outline of them, in the order in which they appear. Like short stories, each is titled.

Paranoia (Colorado)
A man on his way to work in the morning moves with extreme caution, constantly looking over his shoulder. Is he paranoid? Is he phobic? Not at all! As he arrives at the radio station, all is revealed.. Featured actor(s): Roland Tec

My Tie (Mississippi)
A mother worries that her son, prone to controversy and speaking his mind, will meet the same end as her husband—a
violent death. Featured actor(s): Judith Barcroft and J. Tucker Smith

A Black Thing (Tennessee)
An African-American singer records a song, the content of which only starts to trouble her weeks later as she hears it on her car radio. Featured actor(s): Merle Perkins, Kate Weiman, Kate Blumberg and Tom Bozell

Subtraction & Division (Ohio)
The secretary to an election official questions the number of voting machines listed in an affidavit and quickly learns that it’s best to ignore the details three days before an election. Featured actor(s): Paul Outlaw and Polly Adams

Earth Day (California)
Among the world’s oldest trees, a group of PR handlers argue over the perfect spot for a Presidential Photo Op. Featured actor(s): Jenny Bacon, Stephen Barker Turner and Nicholas Pelczar

One Wrong Turn (Louisiana)
One man drives half a day in order to thank another for saving his life. The reunion is not what he expected. Featured actor(s): Carl Palmer and Charles Parnell

If a Cow Was a Pie (Oklahoma)
A Powerpoint presentation outlines the cost-saving benefits of using “all” the parts of slaughtered cattle when feeding prison inmates. Featured actor(s): Nat DeWolf, Matt Walton, Bruce Faulk and Ian Blackman

Caution: Train Crossing (Nebraska)
The head of one of the nation's most powerful railroads sees to it that a railroad report he doesn’t much care for, gets buried. Featured actor(s): Molly Powell and Alvin Epstein

The Mouse (Florida)
Two gay men at opposite ends of the food chain discover they both work for the same company during a one-night stand in an Orlando hotel room. Featured actor(s): David Drake and Stephen Bienskie

What've We Got to Lose? (Connecticut)
The walls of a deserted factory that at its peak employed 10,000 workers, echo with the struggles, fears and hopes of the souls that passed briefly through its halls.

Treason (New Mexico)
The very bridge where Julius and Ethel Rosenberg supposedly sold atomic secrets to the Soviets is the final stop on a guided tour of downtown Santa Fe. Featured actor(s): Marylouise Burke

What Happened to Rita? (Massachusetts)
A shell-shocked librarian returns to work after a 3-month absence, the nature of which is shrouded in mystery. Featured actor(s): Maureen Keiller, Molly Purves, Ellen Colton, Rick Park, Peter Bubriski and Robert Saoud

We Dig a Big Hole (Alabama)
After hearing his dad’s radio interview suggesting that in order to dispose of banned library books, “we dig a big hole,” Kyle does just that, before leaving home for good. Featured actor(s): John Magaro