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In the past year Love Wins, a short documentary by Robin Kampf, has made its mark in the festival circuit.

Having won Best Documentary Short at the Red Bank Indie Street Film Festival, it went on to become a finalist at the Black Maria [international] Film Festival and an official selection at the New Hope Film Festival.

Last weekend Love Wins captured the Best Documentary Short at the 2017 Garden State Film Festival and it will be a featured selection in this weekend’s QFest Film Festival at the Jersey Shore Arts Center, located at 66 S. Main St.

“It’s a love story that any one of us can relate to,” Kampf said. “But most importantly it captures the story of two pioneers who were part of a social movement of equality that changed the course of history.”

Love Wins is a half-hour documentary that captures the union of Emily Sonnessa and Jan Moore through interviews and photographs. The octogenarians, who have been together for over 50 years, unveil the realities of falling in love at a time and place when it was considered strictly taboo to do so.

The film is snapshot, often humorous, of how gay couples were once compelled to live double lives. They raised three children in a New Jersey suburb, all the while keeping their relationship hidden from colleagues, friends and even their children.

After the State Senate Judiciary approved a civil marriage equality bill in Dec. 2009, the couple married. Today they are avid community activist who live in Ocean Grove. 

The couple often accompany Kampf to many of the film screenings, including the viewing during Women’s Week in Provincetown Mass, the haven they visited annually while living a double life. The film premiered at the House of Independents last year and has been screened regularly across the state, including at The Asbury and the Acme Screening Room in Lambertville.

“My goal is to get as big an audience as possible,” Kampf said. “Ultimately [to get] some form of distribution that will help disseminate this message of hope and perseverance.”

A special screening with Kampf, Moore and Sonnessa will be held 2 p.m. Saturday during QFest at 66 S. Main St in Ocean Grove.

Sponsored by QSpot, the LGBTQ support Community Center, the Film and Digital Media Festival runs through Sunday, with Love Wins being screened again at 4 p.m.

QSpot, currently involved in a discrimination lawsuit with the Jersey Shore Arts Center, was granted an emergency writ to move forward with the festival earlier this week.

For more about the festival, click here. 

For more about QSpot, click here. 

And for more about the film, click here.

[Photos courtesy of Kampf]

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