No Dress Code Required

An engrossing portrait of a fierce love unbroken by forces of bigotry and hate, director Cristina Herrera Borquez's rousing debut feature follows Victor and Fernando, an unassuming Baja California couple who in 2013 unwittingly found themselves in the center of a social firestorm over their simple desire to be married. Weighing all their options - including having the ceremony in Mexico City, where same-sex marriage was made legal in 2010 - the pair instead opt to stay in their hometown, Mexicali, where the issue remained unsettled, and fight for their most basic of rights, setting off a series of increasingly absurd roadblocks by the local government and galvanizing legions of both supporters and detractors alike. Aided by a pair of committed attorneys and strengthened by backgrounds shaped by struggle and poverty, Victor and Fernando withstand a seemingly never-ending series of bizarre hurdles and bureaucratic nitpicking with grace and dignity, culminating in one of the most unexpected and emotional wedding ceremonies ever captured on film. Proving again that love trumps hate, No Dress Code Required is a rallying cry for equality, a testament to the power of ordinary people to become agents of change, and above all an unforgettable love story that touches the heart and stirs the conscience. (Seattle International Film Festival)