Much ink has been spilled about the yet to be released film The New Village. What’s behind the controversy and is it the responsibility of film-makers to be historically accurate on when making a period piece? A joint statement by producers Astro Shaw and Yellow Pictures, claims that the movie is a Chinese period feature film in Mandarin that depicts forbidden love set against the backdrop of the struggles of the Chinese communities in resettlement camps called New Villages, set up by the British. Others see “hidden messages” and pro-Communist propaganda.