What do you do when falling in love goes against everything you believe in?

It’s 1992, and when her mother has a hard time dealing with the death of her father, teenage Jaime is sent to live with her aunt and uncle for a while. Kind of awkward since they live in a Jehovah’s Witness community and Jaime is not a believer. In her Siouxsie and the Banshees t-shirts and her Walkman in her ears, she’s unassuming and quiet wandering the small French-Canadian town, lost in her own thoughts. But it’s not long before she’s making friends, the standout being Marike, the daughter of the community’s prominent Witness elder. The chemistry between the girls is obvious and palpable, and predictably they start up an intense romance that fills us with both happiness and dread.

Anwen O’Driscoll and June Laporte give fantastic performances as Jaime and Marike, especially Laporte, playing a character who not only truly believes everything she’s been taught about being a Witness, but who also believes in the depth of her love for Jaime. It’s not lost on her that while practicing a religion that calls itself The Truth, she has to bury her own truth in lies in order to maintain her place in the community. The irony is blistering, and both characters know it. Through it all, directors Sarah Watts and Mark Slutsky refuse to condemn these characters for their sincere beliefs. 

Equal parts fun, sweet, and heart-wrenching, You Can Live Forever is a stirring story about balancing the beliefs in one's heart against the values we've been taught. 

~ Georgia Beers

Official Selection: Tribeca Film Festival

Official Selection: Frameline SF International LGBTQ+ Film Festival

Official Selection: Outfest LA LGBTQ+ Film Festival