Blending live action and animation, the film is set in a postapocalyptic world in which travel and technology are virtually banned, and people who reach the age of 50 have to submit to death to control the size of the population, while young people are tasked with artistically documenting their final moments.[3]
Production on the film was first announced in 2022.[5] According to Fleming, the film was inspired by themes of eco-anxiety and ecological grief.[6] Fleming originally intended for the film to be a satire inspired by the work of Jonathan Swift, but by release it had become what she called "a gentle comedy".[4]
Courtney Small of Exclaim! rated the film 5 out of 10, writing that "Similar to the witnesses, Fleming keeps the audience in the dark regarding the politics and overall logistics of the world. Can I Get a Witness? displays little interest in delving into any of the meaty topics it raises. For all its talk of equality, we never get the sense that the society Fleming constructs actually is an equitable one. Even Ellie's emotional plea for her daughter to continue the important work of witnessing feels at odds with itself since she uses illegal items as a tool for teaching about the past, banned by the same system she wants Kiah to uphold."[11]
For Original Cin, Chris Knight rated it A, calling it a thought-provoking film that he was still processing after seeing it both in its original screening at TIFF and in its March 2025 commercial release.[12]
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