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| Ruth Negga & Joel Edgerton (r) star in Loving |
From our friends at Focus Features...
Announcement Made at Opening Night Screening of Acclaimed Marriage Equality Drama Loving at Virginia Film Festival
Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe announced tonight that, beginning in 2017, June 12th will be known as Loving Day in the State. The Governor made the announcement tonight during his introduction of the critically acclaimed marriage equality drama Loving as the opening night film of the Virginia Film Festival. Loving producer, and Academy Award winner, Colin Firth and writer/director Jeff Nichols were in attendance at the Festival as the Governor made Loving Day official.
The State’s permanent recognition of Loving Day commemorates the 50th anniversary of the June 12th, 1967 Supreme Court decision that ruled in favor of married couple Richard and Mildred Loving, with the Court reaffirming the very foundation of the right to marry.
Speaking at tonight’s event, Governor McAuliffe said, “The remarkable love story of Richard and Mildred Loving is woven into the fabric of our Commonwealth and our country. I am thrilled to declare June 12th as a day on which Virginians can reflect on the courageous contribution the Lovings made to the fight for civil rights and to renew our commitment to the enduring cause of greater equality and justice for all Virginians.”
“Our hope is that by marking this as a special date in Virginia, the rest of the country will catch on - they usually do. Virginia will lead the way, for a national Loving Day!”
Loving Day, an organization founded by Ken Tanabe whose mission is to fight racial prejudice through education and to build multicultural community, have been vocal supporters of Loving and at the forefront of the fight to make Loving Day a nationally recognized holiday. More information on the group can be found at http://lovingday.org/.
Loving, whose stars Joel Edgerton and Ruth Negga are respectively nominated for Gotham Independent Film Awards as Best Actor and Best Actress, celebrates the real-life courage and commitment of the interracial couple who married and then spent the next nine years fighting for the right to live as a family in their Virginia hometown. Their civil rights case, Loving v. Virginia, went all the way to the Supreme Court - and their love story has become an inspiration to couples ever since.
Loving, MPAA-rated “PG-13,” is released by Focus Features in select cities this week and across the country later in November.
Focus Features is part of NBCUniversal, one of the world’s leading media and entertainment companies in the development, production, and marketing of entertainment, news, and information to a global audience. NBCUniversal owns and operates a valuable portfolio of news and entertainment television networks, a premier motion picture company, significant television production operations, a leading television stations group, and world-renowned theme parks. NBCUniversal is a subsidiary of Comcast Corporation.
