Little Rock-born film director Jeff Nichols, whose stature as a young auteur has been steadily growing with the success of films like 2012’s “Mud” and his most recent sci-fi offering “Midnight Special,” will get another chance to put a very big feather in his cap next month. His latest film, “Loving,” has been selected to compete for the prestigious Palme d’Or at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival in France. His previous film, “Mud,” was also an official selection at Cannes.

“Loving” is based on the story of interracial couple Richard and Mildred Loving, who filed suit in federal court in the mid-1960s to overturn Southern bans on interracial marriage. Their case, Loving v. Virginia, eventually went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, with the SCOTUS ruling in 1967 that restrictions on racially mixed marriages were un-Constitutional. The case was later cited heavily in more recent efforts to see bans on LGBT marriage ruled unconstitutional. 

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Written and directed by Nichols, “Loving” stars Joel Edgerton, Ruth Negga, Nick Kroll and Nichols’ regular Michael Shannon. The film began production in Virginia in September 2015, is scheduled for release on Nov. 4.

Twenty other films, including offerings from directors Paul Verhoeven, Jim Jarmusch, Pedro Almodovar and Sean Penn, will also compete for Cannes’ top prize.  

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