“Together Forever” is a 14‑minute film about a young Mormon couple on their wedding night, navigating the awkwardness of a first sexual experience. As someone raised Roman Catholic the idea of “roping” was new to me. (I’m still not sure I fully understand it. I wonder if non-Mormon audiences will have previously heard of “roping.”) Writer/Director, Gregory Barnes, describes it as a “Mormon loophole” for premarital sex. Since he and much of the crew were raised Mormon, I’ll take their word for it.
Writer/Director Gregory Barnes, director of “Together Forever” at Sundance 2026. (Photo courtesy of Sundance Film Institute).
Barnes, who grew up devout in Oak Park, Illinois, but is no longer Mormon, approaches the subject from a queer perspective. The film feels like a commentary on an old-fashioned taboo in our highly sexualized era. I came of age in the sixties fighting for reproductive and abortion rights in the pre-pill Roe v. Wade era. With six decades of marriage under my belt, I related to this short about marriage in a personal way—especially with a newly engaged daughter in her thirties. (Yes, I chose the phrase “under my belt” with tongue planted firmly in cheek.)
Lindsey Normington (Diamond in “Anora”) plays Sydney in “Together Forever” at Sundance on Saturday, January 24th. (Photo courtesy of Sundance Film Institute).
“Together Forever” is well made. The writing, directing, acting, cinematography (Fidel Ruiz-Healy), music (Jack Sobo), and editing (Jordan Michael Blake) all work smoothly. Lindsey Normington (Diamond in “Anora”) shines as the eager bride, and Samuel Sylvester, who made his film debut in Gregory Barnes’ film “The Touch of the Master’s Hand” (which won the 2021 Jury Award for Fiction at Sundance) is convincing as Caleb, the possibly gay groom who enters marriage without full honesty. That lack of disclosure feels unfair to Sydney.
Samuel Sylvester pays Caleb in “Together Forever” at Sundance. (Photo courtesy of Sundance Film Institute),
The film opens with a 2004 speech from Mormon President Gordon Hinckley about marriage as a divine duality. I couldn’t help contrasting his remarks with modern realities: far fewer people marry young now, many couples live together first, and participation in organized religion has declined. By 2022, around 90% of couples in England and Wales cohabited before marriage. All of this makes the film’s focus on premarital sexual restrictions feel quaint—maybe even anachronistic—though still culturally relevant within Mormon circles and some other religious denominations. Given how many steps backward hard-won women’s rights have taken since the election of 2024, stay tuned for developments on the religious right, whatever the sect dictating this generation’s norms. The pendulum is constantly moving, after all.
Lindsey Normington as Sydney in the Sundance short “Together Forever.” (Photo courtesy of Sundance Film Institute).
CONCLUSION:
“Together Forever” had its World Premiere at Sundance’s Yarrow Theatre on Saturday, January 24th. It will screen again at Sundance on Wednesday, January 28, 3:00 PM, Public Screening 2 (Broadway Centre Cinemas 3) Thursday, January 29, 10:20 AM, Public Screening 3 (Redstone 3) Friday, January 30, 10:00 AM, Public Screening 4 (Holiday Village Cinema 2).
I enjoyed this Sundance short, and I think you would, too.
