How Love Won: The Fight for Marriage Equality in Minnesota – Film Debut

Additional Information

Documentary At St. Cloud Film Fest Shows How Minnesota Was Tipping Point In Marriage Equality Battle
Winner of Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival Audience Choice Award To Have St. Cloud Premiere On Sunday, Nov. 6, At 4pm

For more information or for an interview call (651) 261-2272 or email michael.mcintee@theuptake.org

Here’s a cure for election negativity. It’s an election story with a happy ending. It’s about love, but also science and politics. How Love Won: The Fight for Marriage Equality in Minnesota — which documents a historic tipping point in the larger national battle — will have its St. Cloud Premiere on November 6 at the St. Cloud Film Fest.

Most people know the broad outlines of the story: Minnesota became the first state to defeat a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage, and then a few months later made marriage equality the law of the land.

This political thriller shows the inside story of how that all happened, the secret psychological weapon activists used, and how the lives of activists were changed in profound and unexpected ways. The film won the Audience Choice Award at the Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival — scoring a higher rating than any of the 60 other documentaries at the festival.
“★★★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

Most deemed the fight against the constitutional amendment “unwinnable” because similar amendments had easily passed in 30 other states. It's an inspiring story of going from sure defeat to winning more than anyone dared hope.

The film was made thanks to a Kickstarter campaign and matching money from the State of Minnesota’s Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund. Minnesota-based non-profit news organization The UpTake and Michael McIntee produced the film with the help of Blue Moon Productions.

More than 30,000 people volunteered in the “Vote No” campaign. 2.9 million Minnesotans voted on the amendment in what ended up being the state’s most expensive issue campaign ever.
McIntee attended school in St. Cloud and is a former network TV news executive turned independent journalist. He helped found The UpTake, which won the 2016 John R. Finnegan Freedom of Information Career Achievement Award. This is his first feature documentary.

The trailer from the film is available at www.howlovewon.com. McIntee is available for interviews. Press access to a screener copy of the movie is available upon request.

The movie will have its St. Cloud Premiere at the Pioneer Place Theater on Sunday, November 6 at 4pm. Advance tickets are available for $5 through www.stcloudfilmfest.org .

This project was funded with a grant from the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund that was created with a vote of the people of Minnesota on November 4, 2008.