‘Absolutely incredible’: Nova Scotia’s Ben Proudfoot wins Oscar for short documentary
Global News
Halifax-born filmmaker Ben Proudfoot says it's 'hard to believe' he's now a two-time Oscar winner. He won the best short documentary trophy for 'The Last Repair Shop.'
Halifax-born filmmaker Ben Proudfoot says it’s “hard to believe” he’s now a two-time Oscar winner.
The 33-year-old and his co-director Kris Bowers won the best short documentary trophy for “The Last Repair Shop” at a star-studded ceremony Sunday that included a spirited performance of the “Barbie” power ballad “I’m Just Ken” by Canadian actor Ryan Gosling.
“It feels absolutely incredible,” Proudfoot said on call from Los Angeles shortly after the win.
“This is such a victory for arts and music education in Los Angeles and around the world. We are absolutely thrilled, and we are very hopeful that this will mark a new chapter for music education.”
“The Last Repair Shop” tells the story of a Los Angeles workshop that offers free instruments, and free repairs, to public school students.
“L.A. is one of the last cities in America to give public school students free and freely repaired instruments. We need to fix that because musical education isn’t just about creating incredible musicians, it’s about creating incredible humans,” Bowers said during the acceptance speech.
This marks Proudfoot’s second Oscar after winning a trophy in 2022 for the short doc “The Queen of Basketball,” about the late basketball trailblazer Lusia (Lucy) Harris.
