Unforgettable Moments
Witness a narrative that intertwines control, trauma, and empathy, in a dream-like atmosphere leaving an indelible mark.
Watch the trailer
Breaking Cycles
Discover the horror of ‘Always and Forever,’ a film that transcends black and white thinking and stirs internal reflection. This is a story you’ll be talking about for a long while.
An obsessive, controlling teenager kidnaps her boyfriend to play a bizarre, self destructive game. But things become complicated when the boy demands a stop. The film comments on how trauma if not confronted and resolved will lead to co-dependent and potentially destructive results, while providing enough empathy toward accountability.
A Journey Through the Psyche
‘Always and Forever’ follows the mental unraveling of Sarah, a bipolar teenager with PTSD, as she’s slowly forced to accept the consequences of a life defined by a lack of control over herself.
Themes of accountability, empathy, guilt, and breaking generational trauma are at the core in this psychologically horrific, yet darkly humorous film. Audiences will find themselves being critical, yet understanding.
Johnny Thames
Director
Johnny Thames is a Director-Actor-Writer from Chicago whose work focuses on social commentary and genre films.
Meliha Calisir
Producer
Meliha is a film student at Columbia with an interest at in directing. Even though directing is her end goal, she likes producing and doing location sound. She is interested in animation, music and all kinds of art.
Emmanuel Garcia
Co-Writer
Emmanuel is a Columbia college Chicago student majoring in acting, but has dipped his toes in other avenues such as writing and production design.
Graham Ried
Director of Photography
Graham is a bilingual (English & French) freelance cinematographer and photographer local to Chicago and also dabbles in writing and directing from time to time.
Delaney Sulzer
First A.D.
Delaney Sulzer is a senior at DePaul University studying film and television with a concentration in directing. From Naperville, Illinois, she grew up around the creative media industry in Chicago where her passion for creativity stems.
Julia Ravello
Production Designer
Julia is a Senior at Columbia College Chicago in the Film and Television Program with a concentration in Production Design. Her other works include: Johnny Thames’s Tomorrow Nevermore, Finn Scully’s Solitudes Embrace, and Sam Powers’s Shot Dead.
Patrick Tran
Location Sound/Boom Operator
Patrick Tran is a recent graduate of Columbia College Chicago from Streamwood, IL. He has knowledge and experience in sound recording, propmaking and directing as well.
Will Feeney
Co-Editor/Co-Composer
Will is a composer, editor, musician, and sound designer based in Chicago. He is a graduate of the Oberlin College & Conservatory, where he studied jazz composition, cinema, and TIMARA (technology in music and related arts).
Jose Mercado
Grip
The Cast
Jarrod Langwinski
Plays the role of Jacob
Based in the midwest, Jarrod began acting in college. After earning a theatre degree and entering the professional theater scene, Jarrod worked across Wisconsin and Illinois, most notably performing a one-person Hamlet with Door Shakespeare and working with Renaissance Theaterworks for the world premiere of the play Annie Jump.
Jennifer Baffour
Plays the part of Janice
An Illinois native and actor, based in the Chicagoland area Jennifer has performed in theater, film, commercial, and web series. She has participated in a variety of acting workshops, play readings, and an extensive scene study course. Jennifer continues to train with several different private coaches. Currently she is auditioning for independent on-camera projects as well as theater. When not acting, she loves being active, researching true crime, and dabbling in the arts.
Christopher Kahlor
Plays the part of Peter
Christopher Kahler is a Chicago based filmmaker and character actor. He co-founded The Short Bus to Insanity Short Film Festival with Claire “Fluff” Llewellyn as a platform for all independent artists to get their work recognized without exclusion. He also co-hosts the popular podcast The 42nd Street Drive-In with long time collaborator Shawn Hunt, has won several awards for his work, and is often cast as “bikers, bums, junkies, or Jesus”.
Kat Kelli
Plays the part of Young Sarah
Kat is an actor based in Chicago, IL. Her passion for acting began at a young age when she started theatre. Other than her role in Always and Forever, Kat is the lead in an upcoming feature film called “The Spirit of Hilda”. She brings such emotional range and dedication to every role. Kat cannot wait to see where her acting journey takes her next!
Director's statement
As human beings, we tend to be judgmental about how we consume current events, both on television, social media, and in everyday life, regardless of whether we know all the facts. As a result, many of us will instantly jump to extreme conclusions pertaining to situations we find uncomfortable. With this film, I aim to show the complexity and duality of people who are often on the other side of these conclusions, while providing an understanding and empathetic take on how they got to this point. It doesn’t always make their actions right (in this case, the main character’s actions are abhorrent), but it explains (or may explain) why they reached that point and allows us to reflect on how we perceive situations, and maybe even help others we know before it’s too late.
By offering you a glimpse into this world at its lowest, I invite you to look at these characters, not as a spectacle, nor a statistic, but as human beings. I ask you to consider how you can do better. My goal is to push for nuance and compassion, two things that have slowly faded away as we’ve entered a world of turmoil, and go to doomscrolling and bed-rot for comfort. The sooner we can see the nuances of others around us, the easier it will become to intervene.