JESSICA FOREVER (FR, 2018, 97 min)
In a near-future world where orphaned boys are hunted and state violence is omnipresent, Jessica offers sanctuary. She is beautiful, mysterious, and unwavering in her mission to save and care for a band of lost young men, all of them violent outcasts seeking a new kind of tenderness. Together they form a fragile family, hiding out in suburban villas, wandering through forests and empty parking lots, yearning for peace in a world that has no space for softness. Blending fairy tale and dystopia, video game aesthetics and quiet melancholy, Jessica Forever tells a radical story of care and chosen family, where violence and vulnerability constantly collide. Poggi and Vinel’s film is a poetic, genre-defying vision of youth on the edge.

ABOUT
Caroline Poggi and Jonathan Vinel are French filmmakers who have worked together since their studies at La Fémis in Paris. Known for their distinctive visual language blending internet aesthetics, adolescent longing, and cinematic lyricism, they first gained recognition with their short film Tant qu’il nous reste des fusils à pompe, which won the Golden Bear for Best Short Film at the Berlinale in 2014. Jessica Forever is their debut feature and premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2018. Their films continue to screen successfully at international festivals — including Rotterdam, Locarno, and IndieLisboa — and span across formats such as shorts, music videos, and video installations. Their work persistently explores themes of violence, tenderness, and utopian longing.