The Story

Jackie is a young ER doctor, who has always been dedicated to her job. She has worked hard to provide for her patients, so much so, it has taken a strain on her past relationships in life. She solves the problem with a Partnr, a battery powered significant other. Ethan, Jackie's Partnr, is the full package: handsome, neat, stable - it's a no brainer when she programs him to propose. However, Jackie's errand to the store for a set of batteries puts her on a crash course with fate, or in this case, Dave. The connection between the two is evident and ultimately makes her question what makes a relationship “real." We're so excited to share the full story and all of its nuances with you!

Director’s Statement

The willingness to be vulnerable, having to extend the trust that your partnr will catch you a million little times is something so important to relationships. It’s how you build a future, how you can depend on each other. However, what possibilities are there when you take this away? When you’re too busy, unreliable or just don’t want to open yourself up to being hurt again? I Do questions what it means to be in a relationship - exploring the connection between vulnerability and convenience. 

I Do was written in 2019 by director Kaylin Allshouse. In the last two years, the story has evolved, changed, and grown into a story about love and vulnerability that we believe raises several important questions about relationships in today's modern world.

The Cast

Melinda Nanovsky is a New York City based and trained actress. After receiving her degree in journalism from the University of Delaware, Melinda went back to school and trained at the Atlantic Theater Conservatory before beginning her career in film and theater. She was drawn to the role of Jackie and the project, I Do, for the eerie familiarity, exploring a world that feels set in the not too-distant future, discussing topics that she has also experienced in her own life, making the project both personally and professionally compelling.

Bill Manolis is a Pittsburgh-based actor, writer and *cough* attorney.  When he’s not doing any of the aforementioned, he’s spending time with his wife and sons or working on any number of seemingly endless DIY projects.  Bill was drawn to “I Do” for its unique commentary on the sad irony of society’s ever increasing impersonality and boundless quest for peak productivity through the blind devotion to adoption  of social media, life hacks, and the Internet of Things.  Known for the dramatic, aged, and not at all metaphorical "Just wait until there’s no electricity!”, Bill connected with Dave as a sort of unwitting vanguard in the quest for unbridled happiness and contentment—no power required!

Brian Barnett is a business major at Ohio University seeking employment. possessing a love for music he enjoys performing for his local church on the trumpet or working to pick up new instruments as able, currently learning bluegrass banjo. Other hobbies include caring for his plants and bonsai trees and avoiding injury while skateboarding.

The Crew

Director | Kaylin Allshouse is a filmmaker from Columbus, OH. She has a bachelor of arts from Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio in Film and Studio Art in conjunction with a music minor. She has always had an interest in filmmaking and often explores dark themes in her work and I Do is no exception.

Producer | Devon Tayman, based just outside of New York City, has been producing narrative, commercial, and music projects for several years. He brings a wealth of experience with budgeting, accounting, and project management to this production.

Producer | B.D. Smith is an Accounting & Law student studying at Arizona State University. During college he’s worked as a member of production for Netflix, Warner Brothers, Disney, ABC & NBC.

Cinematographer | Brennen is a passionate cinematographer who specializes in telling stories visually, often on 16mm film.

Assistant Director | Mackenzie Hopfauf grew up in the Midwest with a passion for filmmaking. She has interned for production companies, has assistant directed for shorts in the Milwaukee area, and has created works of her own. Upon graduation in May 2021, she achieved her Bachelor of Fine Arts of Film and her directorial short debut involving epilepsy advocation, "Seizure the Day." Mackenzie is currently working in California as a production assistant for The Bachelor Franchise and aims to be an assistant director for television in the future.

Locations | Elizabeth MacLeod is an aspiring writer and artist born and raised in Westerville, Ohio. In 2019, she graduated from the University of Cincinnati with a Bachelor of Arts in English, with a focus in Creative Writing. MacLeod is now combining her love for storytelling with her passion for film.

Co-Production Designer | Olivia Dieker
Olivia Dieker is a designer from Columbus, OH. She is passionate about making ideas come to life.

Co-Production Designer | Maddie Lockyer
This is Madeline Lockyer’s first time using her studio art major in film, but she is beyond excited for this project. She is excited to make dreams become reality on screen.

Budget

In planning this project, the team has taken careful consideration to account for each possible situation, leaving room for incidentals and the usual fluidity that occurs on a film set. Our biggest costs are crew labor, housing/travel/food, and our equipment rentals. Luckily, all of our locations were generous enough to donate their spaces during closed hours, saving us thousands of dollars. Many of the crew are forgoing their rate, which leaves us room for enhanced production design and festival applications, and the remaining funds will be allocated toward production expenses and post-production costs. 

Budget Detail

At $2,500 in funding, we will be able to expand our G&E package to include tungsten lighting and a generator

At $5,000 in funding, we will be able to rent a full dolly, rent passenger and cargo vans, and improve the food selection for the cast and crew.

At $7,500 in funding, we’ll be able to expand our production design to include graphics like storefront signs, neon signs in a bar scene, and having more iterations of the “charger” prop that is essential to the plot.

At $10,000 in funding, we’ll be able to pay cast and crew a more substantial rate, as well as increase our festival reach with more applications at more prestigious festivals.

Production Detail

The film will be shot on location in Columbus, OH. With a crew of about 15 people, we’ll be shooting over the course of three days. The crew is mostly local to Columbus, but there are also key cast and crew coming in for the shoot from Utah, Phoenix, New York, and Pittsburgh. The entire staff is taking time out of their work schedules to shoot this film during the week, which allowed us to secure our locations at an enormous discount. 

One of the most exciting things about this film is just that - film. We’re shooting this project on 16mm! Thanks to our cinematographers expansive knowledge and experience around celluloid, we’re going to immortalize this story on a physical medium, just as many of the filmmakers that inspire us have done in the past. 16mm has all the beautiful qualities of film, like it’s brilliant color rendition, dreamy highlights, and unique artifacts like grain and halation, but it also brings a level of resolution that is still competitive with today’s 4K and 6K cinema cameras. Simply put, 16mm is the ultimate way to shoot an indie film.