Virginia Film Festival

Loving celebrates the real-life courage and commitment of an interracial couple, Richard and Mildred Loving (Joel Edgerton and Ruth Negga), who fell in love and were married in 1958. In their small town of Central Point, Virginia, it was illegal for interracial couples to marry and they were jailed and banished from the state. Their civil rights case, Loving v. Virginia, went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, which in 1967 reaffirmed the very foundation of the right to marry. Richard and Mildred returned home and their love story has become an inspiration to couples ever since. The film, from acclaimed writer/director Jeff Nichols (Take Shelter, Mud), premiered at the 2016 Cannes International Film Festival where it competed for the Palme D’Or. Discussion with director Jeff Nichols, producer Colin Firth, producer Ged Doherty, producer Sarah Green, and producer Oge Egbuonu, moderated by Doug Blackmon (UVA)

Presented by Bank of America

Supported by the UVA Office for Diversity and Equity and the UVA Office for Equal Opportunity and Civil Rights