By Bobby Panza
A short film is defined as an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes or less, including all credits.
“Proof of Concept” is a short film set on the Upper West Side, by a local co-writer, with three notable Upper West Siders in the cast, including Richard Kind, of “Curb Your Enthusiasm” fame.
“I had no idea it was going to be this good,” Kind told West Side Rag by phone. “Not when I was filming it. Not when I was reading it.”
“’Proof of Concept,’ meanwhile, has been fulfilling one of the chief aims of any short, by being accepted into a cluster of festivals, among them the Tribeca Film Festival and New/Next,” wrote The New Yorker, which first posted the film.
But don’t settle back with a bucket of popcorn, “Proof of Concept” runs a mere six minutes and fourteen seconds. In that time, a young woman tries to convince her father and uncle, two UWS plumbers, to invest $10,000 in her short film, while running errands at familiar shops and locations throughout the neighborhood.
The film originally ran 10 minutes. There’s a scene featuring Willie Zabar, great-grandson of the iconic market’s founders, that ended up – like a scrap of lox – on the cutting-room floor. We’re including the link to that “lost” segment here. But watch the movie below first. “Proof of Concept” features Ellie Sachs, Will Janowitz, as well as Kind — but the real star of the show is the Upper West Side.
Co-writers, directors, and longtime friends, Sachs and Max Cohn told WSR they’d been kicking around the idea of creating this film for years, including the vision of having Kind – a familiar sight around the neighborhood – play the role of Chloe’s father. Could it end up being a feature-length film? “Max and I love working with each other and we are definitely keen to do something else,” Sachs said. “So, I would say, stay tuned.”
Without further ado, here is “Proof of Concept.”
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He’s a terrific comic actor, not fully used enough. Like many others.
I agree! He is very talented and really enjoyed East New York.
SO fun to watch and read about. The “lost” scene is a gem. Thank you WSR.
So great. I could watch stuff like this all day long. I wish there was a theater in NY that just showed shorts and student films.
The IFC theater on 6th Ave at 3rd Street does
Amazing
Have lately been enjoying Richard very much in Big Mouth. Looking forward to watching this.
Brilliant idea and so well done.
I believe that Willie Zabar is the *great*-grandson of Lillian and Louis Zabar, who founded the store, not their grandson.
Thank you!
Richard Kind is an habitué of Murray’s Sturgeon Shop.
This was brilliant and so UWS! Richard Kind is not only a great actor, but a lovely man.