( Chicago, October 11, 2016 ) — In a small Middle American town, the university's star quarterback ( Briana Evigan ) is outed for being a heterosexual. Her forbidden love affair with a male journalist ( Tyler Blackburn ) rocks the town to its very core, setting off a series of catastrophic events that will forever change the community. LOVE IS ALL YOU NEED? — a Romeo & Juliet story set in a world where the norm is to be homosexual and heterosexuality is taboo — comes to Chicago Sunday, October 30, 2pm at Center on Halsted, 3656 N. Halsted St. as part of a 20-city Moviement tour. Writer-director K. Rocco Shields will conduct a Q&A immediately following the screening. Tickets, $7, are available athttps://community.centeronhalsted.org/Love.
LOVE IS ALL YOU NEED? is based on the 19-minute short film of the same name, which was so powerful that it organically garnered more than 60 million views and has been self-translated by fans into more than a dozen languages, deeply touching and affecting people around the world. Inspired by true events of bullying, the film stars Briana Evigan ( Step Up 2, The Streets ), Tyler Blackburn ( Pretty Little Liars ) and Emily Osment ( Hannah Montana, Young & Hungry ) and boasts an ensemble cast.
The fallout of the football star's outing puts a spotlight on how intolerance of differences affects youth, college students, parents and the town as a whole. As the unique characters' lives collide, we also get a look at the dramatic effects of other instances of bullying, each pulled from true events and real world experiences.
Shields was inspired to create the feature and short LOVE IS ALL YOU NEED? films by the drastic amount of teen suicides caused by bullying. "I wanted to create a film that could give everyone perspective to really understand these kids' experiences."
"LOVE IS ALL YOU NEED? is a universally relatable story," said Shields. "I originally considered using inversion approaches founded on race, religion and appearance. I decided the lens of sexuality works best in speaking to intolerance for this story, because love is universally important, honorable and especially pure from a child's point of view. The film is built so that the viewer can easily connect with our leads' perspectives and empathize with their painful experiences of being bullied for being different."
"The core takeaway of the film is simple," said Shields. "Intolerance to any sort of diversity is detrimental not only to individuals, but also incredibly destructive to society as a whole."
Profits from the LOVE IS ALL YOU NEED? screening will be donated to Center on Halsted. LOVE IS ALL YOU NEED? will be released digitally on Thanksgiving Day, November 24, 2016, and is available for pre-order on iTunes ( the movie will not be released in theaters ). After the film receives one million downloads, $1million will be donated to the film's national charity sponsors including Center on Halsted, the Midwest's most comprehensive community center dedicated to advancing community and securing the health and well-being of the LGBTQ people of Chicagoland.
Cast: Briana Evigan ( Step Up series ), Tyler Blackburn ( Pretty Little Liars ), Emily Osment ( Hannah Montana, Young & Hungry ), Elisabeth Rohm ( American Hustle, Joy ), Jeremy Sisto ( Clueless ), Blake Cooper Griffin ( Ride ), Ana Ortiz ( Ugly Betty ) and Kyla Kenedy ( Speechless,The Walking Dead ).
Directed by: Kim Rocco Shields
Written by: Kim Rocco Shields, David Tillman
Official site: www.loveisallyouneedthemovie.com/
Facebook: www.facebook.com/loveisallyouneedthemovie/
Twitter: @liayn_themovie
Instagram: @liayn_themovie
Hashtag: #THELOVEMOVIEMENT
Short film: www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ROXTFfkcfo
Teaser trailer: www.loveisallyouneedthemovie.com/
K. Rocco Shields: Director & Writer
Shields studied Film Theory at the University of California Santa Barbara and was initially drawn to editing. She went on to script-supervise for directors including JJ Abrams and Gore Verbinski. Shields founded Wingspan Pictures in 2007 and directed and produced several shorts and features, including the short film, LOVE IS ALL YOU NEED? In 2014 she founded Genius Pictures with the intention of creating films that change culture. She's since produced numerous documentary and educational films for institutions including the University of Southern California. She directed and co-wrote the feature-length film, LOVE IS ALL YOU NEED?
Center on Halsted
Center on Halsted is the Midwest's most comprehensive community center dedicated to building and strengthening the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer ( LGBTQ ) community. Impacting the lives of approximately 35,000 LGBTQ individuals a year through social services and community programs, Center on Halsted offers youth and senior programming, behavior health services, HIV testing, anti-violence work and educational programming such as the GED. Additionally, thousands of individuals join us in basketball, volleyball, hockey, performance, art and music. Center on Halsted is located in the heart of Chicago's Lakeview Neighborhood. For more information, visit: www.centeronhalsted.org .
