Director Jeff Nichols Says ‘Loving’ Is Important To Help The Equality Conversation

The fact-based drama about Richard and Mildred Loving conveys a powerful message.

BackstageOL’s Dave Morales sat down with director Jeff Nichols to chat about his biographical drama, Loving – a film based on an interracial couple’s fight for their right to marry in 1967 – and the powerful message of equality.

“We’re having major conversations, major debates, major arguments right now about equality – racial equality, marriage equality,” Nichols stated. “What Richard and Mildred do is they show us how to have those conversations. They remind us that there are people in the center of those conversations. That’s what we need to be reminded of. We know everybody has got their opinions… but just remember – just for a moment – that you are talking about people’s lives.”

Check out the film’s synopsis below:

From acclaimed writer/director Jeff Nichols, Loving celebrates the real-life courage and commitment of an interracial couple, Richard and Mildred Loving (Joel Edgerton and Ruth Negga), who married and then spent the next nine years fighting for the right to live as a family in their hometown. Their civil rights case, Loving v. Virginia, went all the way to the Supreme Court, which in 1967 reaffirmed the very foundation of the right to marry – and their love story has become an inspiration to couples ever since.

Loving is in theaters now. Watch the full interview with Nichols below: