Canadian filmmaker Ben Proudfoot says it’s “hard to believe” he’s now a two-time Oscar winner.
Canadian filmmaker Ben Proudfoot and his co-director Kris Bowers have won the best short documentary award for “The Last Repair Shop” at a recent star-studded ceremony that included a great performance of the “Barbie” power balled “I’m Just Ken,” by Canadian actor Ryan Gosling.
After winning the award, Proudfoot said it’s “hard to believe” he’s now a two-time Oscar winner.
He said: “It feels absolutely incredible.
“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” is a story of a Los Angeles workshop that offers free instruments, and free repairs, to public school students.
During the acceptance speech, Bowers said: “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.”
The award marks Proudfoot’s second Oscar after he won a trophy in 2022 for the short doc “The Queen of Basketball,” about the late basketball trailblazer Lusia (Lucy) Harris.
Proudfoot added: “I could never have imagined it.
“But the films we make are really designed to lift up people and lift up perspectives that don’t get enough attention, and these awards represent a flood of stories that other people find important.”
Proudfoot and Bowers were joined on stage by Porche Brinker, an 11-year-old violinist who acted in the film.
While talking about Porche, Proudfoot said: “Porche was over the moon. She was thrilled. It was an incredible moment out of my wildest dreams.”
He added that he and the film’s crew planned to celebrate at Vanity Fair’s Oscars after-party. He also planned to travel to Halifax to celebrate in his hometown.
He said: “I’m coming back for a very large donair soon.”
