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L'amoureux (The Lover)

Set in Bordeaux and shot in southwestern France, L'amoureux (The Lover) is a love letter to long distance depicted by real-life lovers. Inspired by the director's all-encompassing romance, this film adaptation of her short story takes viewers on a voyeuristic journey through the senses of a perceptive next-door neighbor. Narrated entirely in French, L'amoureux explores the neighbor's longing for the intimacy she once audibly experienced in the adjacent apartment. It serves as poetic proof that love can be felt in the wake of absence and that distance truly does make the heart grow fonder.

  • Kori Elise Chamberlin
    Director
  • Kori Elise Chamberlin
    Writer
  • Kori Elise Chamberlin
    Editor
  • Kori Elise Chamberlin
    Producer
  • Keenan Cooney
    Producer
  • Kori Elise Chamberlin
    Key Cast
  • Keenan Cooney
    Key Cast
  • Claire Lapointe
    Key Cast
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Genres:
    Romance, Drama
  • Runtime:
    5 minutes 51 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    February 22, 2026
  • Production Budget:
    0 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    France
  • Language:
    French
  • Shooting Format:
    HDR
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Kori Elise Chamberlin

Kori Elise Chamberlin is an old soul with a lifelong passion for visual storytelling. The New Hampshire native’s love for creative video production began at age nine when she started casting her stuffed animals and American Girl Dolls in iPod touch stop-motion movies. In high school, Kori's affection for video evolved as she frequently edited comical clips of her friends to post on Instagram. As an adult, her skills and ideas have blossomed into her own original style, and yes—she still does stop-motion.

During her time at Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU), Kori wrote, directed, and edited numerous short films and collaborated with peers on several others. Her short film Day In The Life (2023) was featured at SNHU’s Humanities Film Festival, and she was featured the following year with two films: I’m Looking Through You (2022) and A Little (More) Conversation (2023). When she’s not editing videos, playing with her English Springer Spaniel, or lying in the sun, Kori is writing dreamy, delicate pieces that read like the lyrics of a love song. She has an appreciation for beautiful words and is determined to demonstrate that with her art. Kori earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Creative Writing & English with a minor in Art History from SNHU.

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Director Statement

L’amoureux (The Lover) was influenced by a short story written during my last semester of college and motivated by the experience of living abroad with my French-American boyfriend. We met in class before he indefinitely moved to France for the remainder of his studies. Despite the Atlantic, we fell deeply in love.

Phone calls, countdowns, and letters of longing consumed my days for the following year. After months of patience, I arrived in Bordeaux at his fifth-story apartment and in his arms. The only other suite that occupied the floor was inhabited by his inconspicuous neighbor, whom we sparsely heard and never knew.

We met her merely through handwriting in a note taped to his front door. In cursive, we apologized for being too loud for her liking and returned it to her door, only for the paper to be removed. Naturally, I was compelled by her unintentional surveillance of our relationship and mysterious existence, so I did what any writer does. Named for a street address, I wrote 11 Rue Charles Lamoureux, a short story that became the companion piece to the poetry collection I submitted for my final undergraduate assignment.

Shortly after graduating, I attended a handful of festivals where I listened to directors speak about creating hypnotic zero-budget films. Having written, directed, and edited several short films as a student, I was inspired by these directors to revisit the narrative and decidedly adapted it into a screenplay. I envisioned tenderly lyrical visuals that reflected on my experience while utilizing valuable resources: loved ones, friends, and family whose talents would help me create an affordable, quality production. I wanted to illustrate and frame this delicate, observed intimacy like a treasured portrait in a locket. In that case, I knew I needed to translate the script to French and shoot it in the concept’s country of origin with the help of my loving boyfriend, Keenan.

This film is a love letter to long distance. It’s a poem of perseverance and lipstick-stained reflection of our days in Bordeaux. It’s a voyeuristic glimpse at affection experienced through limitation by a perceptive stranger. It’s proof that love can be felt in the wake of absence and that distance truly does make the heart grow fonder.

—Kori E. Chamberlin
Writer, Director, Editor, Producer