Kim Rocco Shields has come a long ways, thanks to a little bit of "Love" in her life.
After studying film theory at the University of California-Santa Barbara, she went on to script supervise for directors J.J. Abrams and Gore Verbinski.
She founded Wingspan Pictures and produced the short film Love Is All You Need? in 2014. After popularity soared she then directed and co-wrote a feature length version. The story flips the script, and makes being straight the minority and unacceptable.
Windy City Times: Where in the world are you today?
K. Rocco Shields: I am on the road from New York to Cleveland.
WCT: So you studied film theory in college?
KRS: Yes. It was more about the aesthetics of film. Sometimes a film can make you laugh or cry. It was about the psychology behind that.
WCT: So Love Is All You Need? came out of a short film?
KRS: Yes. The concept of the film start in 2010, when bullying was all over the news. It was an epidemic where kids were committing suicide. They were saying it was because they were gay. We knew it was not the case but it was the first time the media had covered it.
I wanted to show the story of Emily in a 20-minute short. I wanted to show how words can hurt and bullying can effect you as a kid. It went to several festivals and in 2013 it was released onto the internet. Virtually overnight it went to 50 million people. I knew I had something because people were sharing it. Kids told me they stopped cutting because of it and they were showing it at their schools where it stopped bullying. It took the world by storm and was translated into 15 different languages.
It caused quite a stir. In some places being gay is a sin or a crime. To make gay normal in the film seemed like to them even more of a sin. There was some controversy and backlash.
I knew from all of the good it did that I needed to make a feature film out of it.
WCT: The world in reverse was jarring for me.
KRS: I hear you. I made very specific decisions in this film. The concept has been done before but, it has always been done to stigmatize stereotypes. I wanted to create a world that was relatable to mainstream America. I wanted people to be able to see themselves in it.
This is not a LGBT movie but it is made by the LGBT community for mainstream America to know what it is like to be marginalized. It is a very effective learning tool for audiences that think, "Oh, that happens to someone else."
It makes people wake up and want to take action. They do not think the same after they watch it. As a fellow member of the gay community, it is hard to watch. I am the first to say that because we see so much of ourselves in it.
WCT: There is also an empowered-woman component to the movie.
KRS: That is important right now. I wanted men and women to be on an equal playing field. There are men playing football and women too. Why wouldn't there be? I'd watch it.
The actress who played Jude is Briana Evigan. I had a lot of women come out for the role because it is rare to have a female protagonist in a Hollywood movie. She was in Step Up 2: The Streets and was the perfect person, being a dancer. She embodied the female and athletic energy. You can buy the love story between her and Ryan played by Tyler Blackburn.
WCT: I love Ana Ortiz, and have met her in the past.
KRS: She is wonderful. I got an amazing cast because they all believe in what I am doing. The short was proof enough with that kind of change and rippling effect.
WCT: What has been the reaction when people come to the screenings?
KRS: At our first premiere, a woman came up to me and said that I brought her mother back to her. After seeing the film her mother called for the first time in 20 years and she hadn't before that because she is a lesbian. The film is for people to stop treating us as the proverbial other.
WCT: How was working with J.J. Abrams?
KRS: Amazing. I worked from the ground up. I am self made. I started as an assistant, then I was an editor, a supervisor, and started my own company. I started directing for the first time eight years ago. I was able to eventually make this feature film. It has been a long journey.
I have gone to hundreds of film festivals and I have been able to study with the best of the best. There is a lot of blood, sweat, and tears in this film.
WCT: What is your next project?
KRS: This film requires a lot of travel and talking about it. Right now I am really focused on getting this message out there. I am traveling to the communities to talk to my fellow LGBT brothers and sisters to explain the choices I made. I am shouting to the mountaintop about it. Like any singer I need a choir behind me. I want the gay community to understand it and back me up on it. This movie has the power to transform.
Beyond that I working on several projects that have issues not spoken about before, everything from pornography to the deep dark Internet. It is time to make new content and talk about issues that people are not comfortable with. The more we talk about things, the more change can happen.
Visit LoveIsAllYouNeedTheMovie.com for more information about this film.
