“Loving,” the historical drama about the couple whose marriage in the 1950s led to U.S. Supreme Court decision upholding interracial unions, will be honored by the Producers Guild of America for its portrayal a crucial civil rights issue, the guild announced Thursday.
The guild will honor the film with its Stanley Kramer Award, which recognizes a film that “illuminates and raises public awareness of important social issues.” The honor will be presented during the PGA Awards ceremony Jan. 28 at the Beverly Hilton.
“It has never been more important than right now to recognize our shared humanity and the quietly unshakable bond between Richard and Mildred Loving, who — just like Stanley Kramer’s classic characters — stood as the ultimate rebuke to a culture intent on dividing us,” PGA Awards chairs Donald De Line and Amy Pascal said in a joint statement. “`Loving’ is a film that’s unthinkable without the path that Stanley Kramer blazed, and one the great filmmaker would be proud to recognize as part of his legacy.”
The film’s release this year coincided with the 50th anniversary of the Supreme Court decision in Loving vs. Virginia that invalidated state laws prohibiting interracial marriage. The movie chronicles the relationship of Richard Loving and Mildred Jeter, who were unable to marry in Virginia in 1958 due to laws prohibiting interracial unions, so they drove out of state to be wed. They were subsequently arrested when they returned to Virginia, beginning the protracted legal battle.
