YOU CAN LIVE FOREVER
Directed by: Sarah Watts & Mark Slutsky| 96 min | Canada | 2022
In the early ’90s, gay teen Jaime is sent to live with her devout Jehovah’s Witness relatives after the death of her father. Jaime makes an unexpected connection with Marike, daughter of a prominent Witness Elder. The two are instantly drawn to each other and begin a secret, unspoken romance. But when their attraction becomes too obvious to hide, the community moves to separate the two, forcing them each to make a terrible choice between faith and love.
Official Selection:
2022 Tribeca Film Festival
LA Outfest
Calgary International Film Festival
Director’s Statement:
I grew up gay in a Jehovah’s Witness community in a small northern town. As a teenager, I was eager to see a story on the movie screen with a character that would even remotely resemble me. I was always disappointed.
When there were lesbian characters they were inevitably used as plot points and usually died tragic deaths. I was so desperate for representation that I spent all the money I’d been saving for a trip to Europe to fly to Vancouver so I could see Bound on the big screen. When I met Mark and explained my upbringing to him, he immediately understood my point of view. For years, we worked together to create a film that could honor my own background and the experiences of other young people in a similar predicament. You Can Live Forever is the movie I always wanted to see as a teenager.
