Focus Features releases the official poster and first clip from upcoming drama, Loving, celebrating real-life courage of interracial couple Richard and Mildred Loving.
In my real life, I read and study politics, and one of my favorite periods of time to learn about is the American Civil Rights Movement. It’s always a thrill when my real life and fandom life can intersect, and the upcoming film Loving totally embodies this!
To get a little serious for a bit, there was a time in U.S. history where interracial relationships were illegal and codified in state antimiscegenation laws. Loving follows the real-life story of Richard and Mildred Loving, a courageous interracial couple who challenged these laws and eventually found justice in the Supreme Court.
In 1958 when the Lovings were married, interracial marriage was illegal in their home state of Virginia. So, the couple traveled to Washington DC (no antimiscegenation laws), had the marriage ceremony performed, and came back home. However, a year later, the Lovings were arrested and convicted for violating Virginia’s “racial integrity” laws. With help from the American Civil Liberties Union, the couple appealed the conviction all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court (Loving vs. Virginia). And in 1967, the Supreme Court overturned the Lovings’ conviction and ruled that antimiscegenation laws violated due process and equal protection at the heart of the 14th Amendment. (“Under our Constitution, the freedom to marry, or not marry, a person of another race resides with the individual and cannot be infringed by the State.”—Chief Justice Earl Warren)
Loving stars Joel Edgerton as Richard and Ruth Negga as Mildred (written and directed by Jeff Nichols, produced by Raindog Films Big Beach Films, distributed by Focus Features). Earlier this week, the film held its world premiere at the 2016 Cannes International Film Festival and is already receiving critical acclaim.
In conjunction with the world premiere, Focus Features has released the film’s first poster and clip (where Richard proposes to Mildred). See them both below:
Loving hits theaters this Fall, on November 4, 2016. Follow the film on Twitter for more developments. You can also check out the 30-minute Cannes press conference and 15-minute interview with Ruth Negga, Joel Edgerton, and Jeff Nichols right below.