Tribeca 2022: A Lesbian Jehovah’s Witness Romance in ‘You Can Live Forever’
Thursday, June 16, 2022 at 10:00PM 
Religions, as institutions, don't often make space for new ideas or changingn times. This includes LGBTQ+ people whose existence is essentially prohibited in the most literal and unimaginative readings of biblical texts. While there are more religious communities these days that are open and accepting, merging faith with a celebration differences, that is sadly not the general case. You Can Live Forever is set within the world of the Jehovah’s Witnesses, where scripture is quoted often and two women being together isn’t a concept that would ever be considered.
The new film from the co-written and co-directed by Sarah Watts and Mark Slutsky, follows a girl named Jaime (Anwen O’Driscoll), who has been sent to live with her aunt and uncle after the death of her father. At church she meets Marike (June Laporte), and a passionate romance soon develops between the two...
Since they are only teenagers and those around them are more perceptive – if less open-minded – than might be expected, they are soon found out and efforts are taken to reframe the time they spend together as supervised and sanctioned.
It’s even more cruel to take action to break up a relationship than to ignore it altogether. The way that Marike, in particular, looks at the romance is fascinating. Incongruously she believes fervently that if she follows a traditional, prescribed heterosexual family path this will somehow enable her to reunite with Jaime and be happy for eternity in the afterlife. Jaime, who is not a believer and only attends church because her aunt and uncle insist on it, disagrees fervently with that notion. She is fortunate, in a rare show of support, to receive affirmation from one person within her community who recognizes Marike's immaturity in not standing up for the relationship.
You Can Live Forever will surely be difficult for audiences who've had personal experiences with isolating or repressive upbringings. But for those open to seeing it, it is an extremely rewarding and poignant look at young love and the way in which people are really able to see each other despite a society that doesn't want them to look too closely. It’s not quite an indictment of religion but rather a necessary critique of closed-mindedness and the exclusion of those who don’t fit neatly into a box. O’Driscoll and Laporte are extraordinary actors, and the mix of music and cinematography make this a fully enthralling and memorable watch. B+
You Can Live Forever makes its world premiere in the Viewpoints section at the 2022 Tribeca Festival.