LOS ANGELES — Filmmaker K. Rocco Shields hosts an exclusive screening of the award-winning, anti-bullying film Love is All You Need? in North Carolina Thursday, June 16. The movie is followed by a Q&A with Shields, lead actress Briana Evigan (Step Up 2) and other cast as well as Blake Cooper Griffin (Ride), Mike C. Manning (The Real World) and YouTube sensations / LGBT activists Bria and Chrissy.
While many artists responded to HB2 by boycotting North Carolina, Shields was instead motivated to bring her film specifically there. “There are many kinds of people in North Carolina, and this movie is for all of them,” said Shields. “My intention is to inspire an open conversation on tolerance and diversity at one of the places that needs to discuss these topics the most right now.”
Ticket proceeds from the evening will be donated to Safe Schools NC, a non-profit dedicated to creating a safe and positive learning environment for all students and educators in North Carolina.
Love is All You Need? is a forbidden love story that takes place in a world where gay is straight, straight is gay, and heterophobia is prevalent. The feature film made its world premiere in March and has been showing at festivals around the country since, amassing awards and garnering critical acclaim. It’s adapted from the viral 19-minute short film of the same name, which was so powerful that it organically garnered over 40 million views online and was translated by fans into more than a dozen languages, touching individuals around the world.
“The movie can feel shocking, especially because there’s a startling authenticity to the characters’ experiences,” said Shields. “While the sexualities are flipped, all the stories are all based on true events. The recent legislation in NC is positioned to encourage a fresh wave of LGBT discrimination, but talking about our differences to better understand one another may help diminish HB2’s effects in the Durham community.”
The screening is at 7:30pm on Thursday, 6/16 at the Carolina Theatre (309 W. Morgan Street, Durham). Link to tickets ($15): http://bit.ly/1Zbe077
