‘FIRE AT WILL’ (Tribeca 2025) Authentic familial chaos

Tribeca 2025 rainbow logoFIRE AT WILL

Fire at Will (2025) - [www.imdb.com]

Morgan Gruer‘s Tribeca 2025 short FIRE AT WILL is one of the most relatable films to come out of this year’s program. In nine minutes, we witness a mother and father attempting to prepare their four children to sign their will with a notary who will soon be arriving at the house. Blindsided at every turn, the conversation does not go as anticipated. 

fire at will kidsFIRE AT WILL looks fantastic. Jared Levy‘s camerawork is most immersed and intimate. Kyle Moriarty‘s quick-take editing is perfect. The fast-paced dialogue filled with self-absorbed personalities is every kitchen table conversation featuring adult children and their parents. As the firstborn of four loud children in an Irish Italian household, I can attest to the authenticity in the chaos of Gruer’s script, right down to the mother storming out in emotionally exhausted dramatics and the unspoken connection between father and artistic daughter. The cast nails each ping-pong match beat. FIRE AT WILL is a spectacular treatment for a feature. I need to know what happens next.

 

Director: Morgan Gruer
Producer: Sandra Tan
Screenwriter: Morgan Gruer
Cinematographer: Jared Levy
Editor: Kyle Moriarity
Executive Producer: Kerri Mandelbaum, Rob Neft, Morgan Gruer
Associate Producer: Wendy Neft-Sanda, Sarah Zaccardo, Donald Milsten, Teddy Gruer, Hannah Gruer
Co-Producer: Justin Lacob, Nicola Smith, Sam Gruer, Naomi Milsten Gruer
Production Manager: Beatriz Barbieri
Production Company: Prom Creative
Sound Design & Mix: Calvin Pia, Felt Sound

1st Assistant Director: Darcy Thompson
Color Grade: Jared Rosenthal
Cast: Scott Cohen, Amy Stiller, Ellie Sachs, Lucas Zelnick, Rebecca Gever, Julia DiCesare

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Tribeca 2023 film review: The hilarious short ‘PROOF OF CONCEPT’ lives up to its perfect name.

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PROOF OF CONCEPT

Proof of concept cast still from tribeca 2023

Written and directed by Max Cohn and Ellie Sachs, the short film PROOF OF CONCEPT is a filmmaker and cinephiles meta-inside joke.

Richard Kind plays Robert Cohen, a man with an aspiring filmmaker daughter. An ager Chloe, played hilariously by Ellie Sachs, tries to get dad and her Uncle Eddie on board for funding a short film, or “proof of concept.” Will Janowitz brings a dry, deadpan delivery to Uncle Eddie that reminds me of Brendan Hunt as Coach Beard from Ted Lasso. That whip-smart, wheels always turning, happy-go-lucky attitude goes a long way against Kind’s darling confusion. Add in Sachs’ wild enthusiasm, and that’s comedy gold.

Richard Kind in Proof of ConceptFilmed in my and Kind’s neighborhood of the Upper West Side, the film takes place as Chloe describes it, making the scenario even funnier. Do I want to see the feature-length version of this? Yup. Is this perhaps the most convincing actual proof of concept ever created? I think it might.