Oscars 2024: The Last Repair Shop wins Best Documentary Short Film

The Last Repair Shop, a documentary short film directed by Ben Proudfoot and Kris Bowers, won the Oscars for Best Documentary Short Film. This is the second time in the last three years that the award has been claimed by Ben Proudfoot, along with his fellow director Kris Bowers.

The film is the story of craftspeople in Los Angeles who keep 80,000 musical instruments in working order for the city’s public school students. It’s the only big city school system that keeps kids in tune with free bassoons, trombones, sousaphones, cellos, piccolos and every other kind of instrument.

“The Last Repair Shop is about the heroes in our schools who often go unsung, unthanked, and unseen,” Bowers said from the stage. Looking up at the rafters where the film protagonists were seated, he said, “Tonight, you are sung, you are thanked, and you are seen.”

“John Williams inspired me to become a composer,” Bowers noted. “He went to L.A. Public Schools. I went to LA Public Schools. This is Porché Brinker. She’s 12 years old. She’s playing violin in L.A. public schools. She looks amazing tonight.”

Bowers continued, “L.A. is one of the last cities in America to give public school students free and freely prepared instruments. We need to fix that because music education isn’t just about creating incredible musicians. It’s about creating incredible humans.”

Three years ago, Proudfoot and Bowers received a nomination for their last film project, A Concerto Is a Conversation. For his short documentary, The Queen of Basketball, on the late Lucy Harris, Proudfoot received the Oscar in 2022.

Produced by Breakwater Studios, the film premiered on September 1, 2023 at the 50th Telluride Film Festival. The film was made available for streaming on YouTube and the Los Angeles Times website on November 8, 2023.

The Last Repair Shop is a production of Searchlight Pictures, L.A. Times Studios, and Proudfoot’s Breakwater Studios.