In real life interracial couples experience various challenges - be it from their friends, families or society as a whole. See how these complicated relationships have been portrayed and handled on the silver screen.

2 Days in New York (2012)
The pairing of Julie Delpy with Chris Rock was an interesting one. Marion and Mingus are not just a interracial couple, but one of mixed nationalities who live in a tiny New York apartment overtaken by Marion’s strange, crazed and unwittingly racist French family. It highlights that it’s not just colour which differentiates us, but culture too.
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Made in America (1993)

A black teenage girl discovers that her father is actually a sperm donor and not her mother’s late husband. She goes in search of her real father and discovers the shocking (but eventually hilarious) news that her father is a white car salesman. Whoopi Goldberg and Ted Danson (who controversially became a couple during filming) share an amazing chemistry in this film and while jokes are made about the differences in skin colour and culture, they’re never patronising. You’ll have a good giggle while also learning that interracial relationships are beautiful and complex.
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Image: Past posters
Fools Rush In (1997)
Remember ‘90s Matthew Perry? He plays an ambitious New York architect who has a one night stand with a photographer (played by Salma Hayek), which results in a pregnancy. They decide to get married and make a go of it, but there’s one disaster after another in an effort to blend their two very different families into one.
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Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967)
Joanna Drayton has found a great, successful, respected man in her fiancé, Dr John Prentice. He’s well-mannered, well-dressed and handsome - but he’s also black. Joanna’s parents raised her with liberal values, yet they are still shocked when she wants to marry a black man. It's also interesting to note that interracial marriage was still illegal in several states in the USA just 6 months before the film’s release in 1967.
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Corrina, Corrina (1994)
Another Whoopi flick from the ‘90s, this one sees her playing a black nanny who falls in love with her white boss in the late ‘50s. While it highlights the racial struggles of being in an interracial relationship (especially in a time when it was even less understood), it also shows the relationship between a little white girl and her black nanny, showcasing that racial prejudice is socially constructed instead of being intrinsically part of us.
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Jungle Fever (1991)
This film depicts the conception and downfall of an affair between a married black man and an Italian-American woman. Flipper and Angie begin a rather tumultuous affair after spending many late nights working together. When the families of both parties eventually learn of the affair, they react violently and are extremely unsupportive. It’s a great commentary on how we hurt the ones we love and how quickly we can damage relationships, while also highlighting the added struggle of being a couple of mixed races.
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Lakeview Terrace (2008)
Kerry Washington and Patrick Wilson play a newlywed, interracial couple who move into a new neighbourhood. At first, all seems to be good and at peace until they meet their prejudiced neighbour, played by Samuel L Jackson.
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Far From Heaven (2002)
Another film set in the racially hostile 1950s. Cathy becomes friends with her gardener, Raymond, and they become closer as her marriage starts to breaks down. But the people in their small town are not ready for a white woman and black man to be anything more than madam and employee.
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Image: Imp Awards

Save The Last Dance (2001)
Sara and Derek’s love story is a beautiful one with Derek supporting Sara as she prepares for her audition at Julliard. But things sour when Sara has a fight with Derek’s ex, Nikki. Then Derek’s sister, Chenile, says she knows why Nikki was upset since Sara “stole” one of the few good black men in the area - a realistic indicator of the attitudes many have towards interracial relationships.
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Something New (2006)
It’s a pity this film is so underrated as it shows the complexities of interracial relationships, black family values and the way racial groups interact with each other, so well. It also shows Kenya (Sanaa Lathan) as a strong, independent woman in the role of the successful business person and employer of Brian (Simon Baker) - who she initially hires to landscape her garden - in a great reversal of roles. The best thing about this film though is the fact that it shows how important conversations about race and colourism are.
Watch the trailer here
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