RICHMOND, Va. — The Virginia Film Office has announced the HBO documentary based on the Virginia couple who helped legalize interracial marriage, will be shown at the Byrd Theatre this weekend.
The Loving Story will be shown at the Byrd during a free screening on Sunday, June 12 at 4:30 p.m.
That day was chosen in honor of ‘Loving Day,’ on June 12, which celebrates the 1967 Supreme Court decision Loving V. Virginia that struck down laws preventing interracial marriage.
The Award-Winning HBO Documentary tells the story of Richard and Mildred Loving, a Caroline County couple who wed in 1958 in violation of the then Virginia Racial Integrity Act.
They were thrown in jail and convicted of violating the anti-miscegenation law and forced to leave the state.
Richard and Mildred Loving
The couple then petitioned the court to overturn the ruling, bringing it all the way to the Supreme Court, where they won in 1967.
The documentary was directed by Nancy Buirski, produced by Buirski and Elisabeth Haviland James, and written by Buirski and Susie Ruth Powell.
Virginia Film Office Director Andy Edmunds invites the community to the event:
“We are so thankful to everyone who helped in the production of the feature film last year here in Virginia. While you will have to wait until November to see that spectacular work, Loving Day is worth recognizing and celebrating, especially here in the Commonwealth. Please come and enjoy this free screening of the documentary film that inspired the upcoming major motion picture.”
The screening will be open to the public and no tickets are necessary. Doors open at 4 p.m. for the 4:30 p.m. screening.
For more information on the screening click here:
To honor the Loving’s a petition has been started to make June 12 federally observed as Loving Day.
