77 minutes / Color
Release: 2012
Copyright: 2011
Oscar-shortlist selection THE LOVING STORY, the debut feature by Full Frame Documentary Film Festival founder Nancy Buirski, is the definitive account of Loving v. Virginia-the landmark 1967 Supreme Court decision that legalized interracial marriage.
Married in Washington, D.C. on June 2, 1958, Richard Loving and Mildred Jeter returned home to Virginia where their marriage was declared illegal-he was white, and she was black and Native American. At the time, anti-miscegenation laws were upheld in 16 states. The Lovings refused to leave one another and, with the help of the American Civil Liberties Union, took their case to the courts.
Hope Ryden's luminous, newly discovered 16mm footage of the Lovings and their young ACLU lawyers, Bernard S. Cohen and Philip J. Hirschkop, as well as first-person testimony by their daughter Peggy Loving and rare documentary photographs by LIFE Magazine photographer Grey Villet, recounts the little-known story of the Loving family.
Their case made it all the way to the United States Supreme Court, whose decision-under Chief Justice Earl Warren-finally struck down state laws against interracial marriage throughout the country. THE LOVING STORY takes us behind the scenes of the legal challenges and the emotional turmoil that they entailed, documenting a seminal moment in American history and reflecting a timely message of marriage equality in a personal, human love story.
"A perfect time capsule that illuminates the racist past of our country with a uniquely personal and poignant emphasis." —The Hollywood Reporter
"In a rich collection of 16-millimeter film, old news clips and still photographs, the Lovings don't look like two people caught up in a cause, they seem like two people caught up in each other." —The New York Times
"Using evocative photographs, newly unearthed footage and interviews with Lovings' daughter and lawyers, the film reveals the power of love to overcome bigotry." —The Huffington Post
"Documenting many pivotal moments in the case, it adds a dash of something rarely seen in the grand narrative of the American Civil Rights struggle: romance." —Chicago Sun-Times
"Highly recommended… informative and emotionally engaging." —Educational Media Reviews Online
Select Accolades
An exploration of racism and skin color in Cuba during the 1950s.
William Sabourin O'Reilly | 2016 | 30 minutes | Color | English; Spanish | English subtitles
Friend and advisor to Martin Luther King, Jr., Ella Baker played an instrumental role in shaping the American civil rights movement. 48-minute version.
Joanne Grant | 1981 | 48 minutes | Color
Named to the National Film Registry at the Library of Congress and preserved by the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture, Madeline Anderson’s essential work brings viewers to the front lines of the fight for civil rights.
Madeline Anderson | 1970 | 30 minutes | Color | Closed Captioned
One black family's commitment to a quality education, from the pre-1965 time of segregation, through desegregation, and through the recent period of resegregation. **Winner, John E. O'Connor Film Award, American Historical Association**
Chea Prince | 2003 | 56 minutes | Color | English
