Skip to main content
You Can Live Forever film image, co-directors Sarah Watts, Mark Slutsky

You Can Live Forever

This event has passed

This tender coming-of-age drama, set in a Jehovah’s Witness congregation in the 90s, explores the themes of first love, sexual awakenings, and the clash of personal desires with the sense of community. The film follows Jamie as she moves in with her aunt and uncle who are part of the group. Initially wary of their close-knit community, things start to shift when she meets Marike, a charming young Witness tasked with welcoming Jamie into the fold. The two instantly hit it off and develop a strong bond that ultimately results in widespread tension, challenging the young lovers’ own principles.

Marking the feature directing debut for Sarah Watts and Mark Slutsky, the film taps beautifully into the whirlwind of emotion caused by forbidden teenage infatuation within the rigid constraints of religious conditioning. Sharply written, shot, and acted, You Can Live Forever is ultimately carried by Anwen O’Driscoll, whose nuanced, naturalistic performance gives the film its heartbeat.

 

Q&A Sept 30

 

Presented by

Media Partner

Global BC Logo

Directors
Cast

Anwen O’Driscoll, June Laporte, Liane Balaban, Deragh Campbell, Antoine Yared, Hasani Freeman, Tim Campbell

Credits
Country of Origin

Canada

Year

2022

Language

English

Film Contact
18+
96 min
Drama LGBTQIA2S+ Women Directors

Book Tickets

This event has passed.

Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre

The Road to Patagonia

Dir. Matty Hannon
90 min

A travelogue, an eco doc, an adventure movie and a love story, The Road to Patagonia chronicles filmmaker and ecologist Mayy Hannon's 50,000 km expedition from Alaska to the tip of Chile (via Vancouver Island), on motorbike, horse, and surfboard.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema

Sex

Dir. Dag Johan Haugerud
125 min

Two chimney sweeps living in heterosexual marriages find their views on sexuality and gender challenged by a series of unexpected events. In a set of sharply scripted conversations, both men confront heretofore unexplored aspects of their identity.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema

Love

Dir. Dag Johan Haugerud
119 min

This warm, thoughtful piece offers shrewd comic observations on modern dating as it trains a quizzical eye on the trysts of a female doctor, Marianne (Andrea Bræin Hovig), and her colleague, a gay male nurse, Tor (Tayo Cittadella Jacobsen).

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema

No Bears

Dir. Jafar Panahi
106 min

Dissident Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi plays himself in this ingenious meta-fiction about the making of a film, and the unmaking of love story.

VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

3 Faces

Dir. Jafar Panahi
100 min

Iranian filmmaker Panahi and actress Behnaz Jafari, both playing themselves, receive a video in which a distraught teenaged girl, whose acting dreams have been quashed appears to kill herself. Panahi and Jafari decide to investigate...

VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

Dreams

Dir. Dag Johan Haugerud
110 min

The third installment in the Sex/Dreams/Love trilogy is another rich, absorbing tale. 17-year-old Johanne writes a confessional about her flirtation with a (female) teacher. But the writing is too good to stay private...

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

Credits

Executive Producer

John Christou

Producer

Robert Vroom

Screenwriter

Sarah Watts, Mark Slutsky

Cinematography

Gayle Ye

Editor

Amélie Labrèche

Production Design

André Chamberland

Original Music

CFCF

Directors

Mark Slutsky headshot, You Can Live Forever director

Photo by EK Bowell

Mark Slutsky

Mark Slutsky is an award-winning writer and director based in Montreal. His shorts Never Happened (2015) and Sorry, Rabbi (2011) both premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. In 2013, he co-directed and produced the animated short I’m One, Too! for the 44th season of Sesame Street. He also writes for video games, winning the 2021 Canadian Screen Award for Best Video Game Narrative for his work on Compulsion Games’ We Happy Few. You Can Live Forever (2022), co-written and co-directed with Sarah Watts, is his first feature.

Sarah Watts headshot, You Can Live Forever director

Photo by Kayleigh Choiniere

Sarah Watts

Sarah Watts is a writer/director from Montreal. Her previous work has been shown at Slamdance. When not making films, she works as a sports writer and editor.