On June 7 at 7pm, join us for a special screening and conversation to mark 10 years since Minnesota legalized same-sex marriage. The 2016 MSPIFF Audience Award-winning How Love Won: The Fight for Marriage Equality in Minnesota traces the unlikely victories for same-sex marriage supporters in Minnesota.

The conversation following the film will include panelists former Minnesotans United for All Families Campaign Manager Richard Carlbom, OutFront Minnesota Executive Director Kat Rohn, marriage equality law co-author Senator Scott Dibble and filmmaker Michael McIntee. Discussion will include what has changed and what has not—including increasing violence and harmful rhetoric targeting trans people.

See this one time only event at the renovated Main Theater in Minneapolis. Tickets now available from the MSP Film Society.

How Love Won: The Fight for Marriage Equality in Minnesota is now available globally on the IndieFlix streaming service. The award-winning film, which traces the unlikely victories for same-sex marriage supporters in Minnesota, was produced by Michael McIntee and The UpTake.

How Love Won is an inside look at how LGBTQ activists in Minnesota won over people on a very divisive issue: gay marriage. How Love Won has become the playbook for how to actually talk about tough political issues. At the core of the movie are conversations people had about gay marriage — conversations that enable understanding and disarm hate. The film documents how Minnesota was a historic tipping point in the fight for marriage equality.

How Love Won has received standing ovations from audiences and high praise from critics.

“★★★1/2 out of 4 stars…must see” — Star Tribune
“‘How Love Won’ won me over” — St. Paul Pioneer Press
“A Cause for Celebration” — WCCO-TV
“You want to see this movie” — Lavender Magazine

“As we approach the 10th anniversary of marriage equality in Minnesota, I’m incredibly excited for our film to be distributed on IndieFlix,” said McIntee. “The film had sold-out performances during its limited run. This will give many more the opportunity to share in the joy of watching the arc of the universe bend toward justice and seeing love triumph.”

IndieFlix has a 7 day free trial and monthly subscriptions for $4.99 a month or $49.99 a year.

IndieFlix subscribers can watch How Love Won at https://watch.indieflix.com/movie/wbkbWTy9rzIH-how-love-won It is also available through the IndieFlix Roku and Apple TV apps.

This film was funded by donations from many people as well as with a grant from the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund that was created with the vote of the people of Minnesota on November 4, 2008.

How Love Won: The Fight for Marriage Equality in Minnesota is now available globally on the Seed & Spark streaming service. The award-winning film, which traces the unlikely victories for same-sex marriage supporters in Minnesota, was produced by Michael McIntee and The UpTake.

How Love Won is an inside look at how LGBTQ activists in Minnesota won over people on a very divisive issue: gay marriage. How Love Won has become the playbook for how to actually talk about tough political issues. At the core of the movie are conversations people had about gay marriage — conversations that enable understanding and disarm hate. The film documents how Minnesota was a historic tipping point in the fight for marriage equality.

How Love Won has received standing ovations from audiences and high praise from critics.

“★★★1/2 out of 4 stars…must see” — Star Tribune
“‘How Love Won’ won me over” — St. Paul Pioneer Press
“A Cause for Celebration” — WCCO-TV
“You want to see this movie” — Lavender Magazine

“I’m incredibly excited for our film to be distributed on Seed & Spark,” said McIntee. “The film had sold-out performances during its limited run. This will give many more the opportunity to share in the joy of watching the arc of the universe bend toward justice and seeing love triumph.”

Seed & Spark is a streaming platform for filmmakers focusing on celebrating all identities and perspectives, making it possible for everyone’s story, no matter how specific or personal, to be seen as universal. The service has a “pay-what-you-can” price starting at $2 a month.

Seed & Spark subscribers can watch How Love Won at https://www.seedandspark.com/watch/how-love-won It is also available through Seed & Spark’s Roku and Apple TV apps.

This film was funded by donations from many people as well as with a grant from the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund that was created with the vote of the people of Minnesota on November 4, 2008.

Judges at the Grand Rapids Film Festival have named “How Love Won” as the top film in the fest’s Transformative Film Feature category.

“We were so very impressed with your coverage of Marriage Equality in Minnesota, and the way you captured genuinely humanizing stories,” said GRFF President and CEO Jen Shaneberger.

“How Love Won” was one of eight films honored of the 104 films that were shown at the festival.

Here is the full list of winners
Best Feature Transformative – How Love Won
Best Feature Quality Entertainment – Breaking Legs
Best Short Transformative – Watch This
Best Short Quality Entertainment – Father Burkes Boss Battle
Best Student Transformative – Gardeners of the Forest
Best Student Quality Entertainment – Cloudy with a Chance of Sunshine
Best Michigan Feature – Something Fun
Best Michigan Short – Supermom

 

Since the election,How Love Won has been been getting new attention because it deals with how to talk about politically contentious issues in a way that brings about positive change. It has been selected to show at the Grand Rapids Film Festival on Saturday April 8 as part of its “transformative power of film” category. Only 11 other films were selected for this category.

Tickets to the 1:30 p.m. show at the Wealthy Street Theatre are on sale here.

Australia is wrestling with same-sex marriage. The country made it illegal in 2004, but since then pressure has been building to change the law with Australian Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull supporting the change.

So it’s timely that the Phoenix Film Festival in Melbourne made How Love Won: The Fight for Marriage Equality in Minnesota one of its selections for the 2017 festival that took place in February. We’re hoping that Australia can be inspired by what happened here in Minnesota to make positive social change so people can marry the person they love.

Our award-winning documentary How Love Won: The Fight for Marriage Equality in Minnesota has shown to packed houses and standing ovations in Minnesota. But very few people outside of the state have seen it.

That’s about to change.

I just got word today that How Love Won will show at the 2017 Oxford Film Festival in February. MovieMaker magazine says the festival in Oxford, Mississippi is one of the top 50 best in the nation for film makers.

Getting the film shown outside of Minnesota is a very important step to getting it wider distribution. It’s been a long process and it wouldn’t have happened without your support.

The details of exactly when the film will be shown are still being worked out. I’ll post them here when I get them. The festival says films will play on Friday and Saturday with winners repeating on Sunday. The awards ceremony is Saturday morning. Yes it’s a juried competition and How Love Won is in the LGBTQ category.

Here’s a cure for any election negativity you may be feeling. This Sunday come watch the feel good documentary about how an election changed things for the good in Minnesota.

The St. Cloud Film Festival has picked How Love Won: The Fight for Marriage Equality in Minnesota as one of its selections for this year’s festival!

Let your friends and neighbors know they can come see it 4pm Sunday Nov 6 at the Pioneer Place Theater in St. Cloud. It’s showing with two short films. You can buy tickets online for only $5.

See for yourself why it won an Audience Choice Award at the Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival.

Elections have consequences! Come, cheer and help us win another audience choice award.

In the Pride issue of Lavender Magazine, “Leather life” columnist Steve Lenius writes despite the “current political ugliness” Pride season gives him several reasons to be proud. And one of those reasons is the documentary How Love Won: The Fight for Marriage Equality in Minnesota.

“As I watched How Love Won, I felt proud all over again of the progress we have made in a relatively short time. I invite you to watch this film and see if you don’t laugh, cry, and feel a renewed sense of pride in our community, our neighbors, our allies, and our state. You want to see this movie.”

“How Love Won is a film of triumph, full tear-jerking moments of personal testimony and hands-in-the-air celebrations of communal jubilee.” —WCCO-TV Jonathan Sharp’s review explains why it is essential people see this movie now.

“One cause for celebration this year is a locally-made documentary playing as part of Pride week at the St. Anthony Main Theatre. How Love Won: The Fight For Marriage Equality In Minnesota powerfully highlights the historic defeat of the proposed marriage amendment in 2012 and the subsequent legalization of gay marriage soon after.”

Sharp interviews director Michael McIntee about the relevancy of the film in the wake of the Orlando shootings that targeted Latino LGBTQ people.

“‘The film shows how love can conquer hate,’ McIntee said. ‘Orlando shows us that still, despite what’s happened in the last decade or more, there’s still a lot of hate and it hides in a lot of places…But there a lot of folks in that in between category that can be reasoned with and can be talked to. I think it’s just that much more important to reach out to them, and, within their own value systems, work to change how they think about people, how they deal with people.’”