Award Winning Old Heart Premieres at Madison Fairfield Inn February 19

MADISON- Old Heart, the World War 2 love story featuring Edward Gaines, grandson of a famed Madison preacher S.M. Gaines, premieres here at the Fairfield Inn on February 19 at 6 p.m. Honoring America’s veterans during Black History month, the film is adapted from Peter Ferry’s acclaimed novel.

Gaines plays black Private Tom Johnson, a World War 2 vet who heads back to the Netherlands 60 years after the war instead of moving to an assisted living facility chosen by his children. Now 85, he is determined to reconnect with the love of his life, a Dutch Jewish translator he worked with during a humanitarian relief program during the Hunger Winter of 1944-45.

Winner of seven best features awards at festivals around the world, the film was shot in Michigan and the Netherlands. The drama honors the memory of Ferry, the acclaimed Indianapolis author who died in September 2024 as filming began in West Michigan. A tribute to elder independence, the film screens at 6 p.m. followed by a Zoom conversation with Gaines.

He will speak on the story of Johnson’s unit, the Red Ball Express, the sole integrated unit in the segregated American Army that fought the world’s greatest racist. See the trailer here: https://vimeo.com/ondemand/oldheart

This event at 108 St. Michaels Avenue, Madison is sponsored by the Order of the Eastern Star. For more information contact Sue Livers at (812) 701-3617