PARTNR
2022 · 12m · USA
Directed by Kaylin Allshouse
Genres: drama, romance, sci-fi
Tones: contemplative, melancholic, tender
In a not-so-distant future, Jackie's bionic boyfriend Ethan proposes — until a chance encounter with another human reveals the messy, irreplaceable beauty of imperfect love.
Picked by Zoe
The scouts
Everyone expects the AI-boyfriend story to go full Black Mirror—dystopian, ironic, caustic—but Allshouse refuses; she's made something genuinely tender about synthetic love, which is either brave or boring depending on whether you believe the intimacy is real.
Shot on film in an era of digital convenience, PARTNR quietly positions itself against the sleekness its own premise demands—a formal choice that echoes the lineage of sci-fi cinema that trusts quietude over spectacle, from Stalker onward.
The entire film pivots on a single glance Ethan gives Jackie when the human appears—a micro-performance choice that asks whether a bionic being can register loss—and that restraint is what transforms a high-concept premise into something that actually *feels* like love.
Reviews
Beautifully shot on film by writer/director Kaylin Allshouse, with every frame carefully planned out and shot concisely.
Festivals
- Phoenix Film Festival 2023
- Crested Butte Film Festival 2023
- Nightmares Film Festival 2023
- Cinema Columbus Film Festival 2023