Ben Proudfoot

Last updated

Ben Proudfoot
BornOctober 29, 1990
Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Occupation Filmmaker

Ben Proudfoot (born October 29, 1990) is a Canadian filmmaker. He directed The Queen of Basketball , winner of the 2021 Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Subject; [1] [2] as well as codirector with Kris Bowers of the short documentary film A Concerto Is a Conversation , which was an Academy Award nominee for Best Documentary (Short Subject) at the 93rd Academy Awards in 2021. [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] He and Bowers were also winners of the 2024 Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Subject for The Last Repair Shop . [9] [10]

Contents

Life and career

Born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Proudfoot is of Scottish heritage. He was active as a sleight-of-hand magician in his youth, winning several international magic competitions, before attending film school at the USC School of Cinematic Arts. [11] He launched his own film production company, Breakwater Studios, in 2012, and has directed a number of other short films including Dinner with Fred (2011), ink&paper, Life's Work: Six Conversations with Makers and That's My Jazz. [11]

On July 27, 2021, The New York Times website published a 16-minute film by Proudfoot about the life of astronomer Jocelyn Bell Burnell. Entitled "The Silent Pulse of the Universe," the film shows her instrumental role in the research on the discovery of pulsars and how she did not receive recognition for her work in the attribution of the Nobel Prize received by Antony Hewish and Martin Ryle. Bell Burnell also describes the extreme prejudice she faced at school, at university and in her career as a woman scientist.

On August 24, 2021, the Times website published another 16-minute film by Proudfoot. "Almost Famous: The First Report" profiles Jason Berry, the Louisiana reporter who broke the Catholic Church sex abuse scandal in the 1980s — in large part, before the story was able to gain traction. In 2002 The Boston Globe covered the story, this time garnering a Pulitizer Prize and inspiring the Academy Award-winning feature film Spotlight . Berry spent ten years trying to gain traction for his documented stories of the church protecting and enabling pedophile priests.

His 2023 documentary short The Last Repair Shop won the award for Best Documentary Short Film at the 2023 Calgary International Film Festival. [12] and the Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Subject in 2024.

ESPN Films acquired the short documentary film "MOTORCYCLE MARY", produced by Proudfoot's company Breakwater Studios. It was screened at the Tribeca Film Festival on June 7, 2024 in New York. The film was directed by Haley Watson. Rachel Greenwald was the producer, while Proudfoot and seven-time Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton served as executive producers. [13]

Accolades

The Queen of Basketball , Proudfoot's film about women's basketball legend Lusia Harris, won the 2021 Academy Award for Best Documentary (Short Subject); [14] [2] [15] Shaquille O'Neal and Steph Curry served as executive producers. [4] [2]

The Last Repair Shop , Proudfoot's and Kris Bowers' film about the repair of musical instruments for Los Angeles public school students, won the 2024 Academy Award for Best Documentary (Short Subject). [10]

Filmography

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Academy Awards</span> Annual awards for cinematic achievements

The Academy Awards of Merit, commonly known as the Oscars or Academy Awards, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the film industry. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States, in recognition of excellence in cinematic achievements as assessed by the Academy's voting membership. The Oscars are widely considered to be the most prestigious awards in the film industry.

The Academy Award for Best Picture is one of the Academy Awards presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) since the awards debuted in 1929. This award goes to the producers of the film and is the only category in which every member of the Academy is eligible to submit a nomination and vote on the final ballot. The Best Picture category is traditionally the final award of the night and is widely considered as the most prestigious honor of the ceremony.

The Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film is an award given by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) as part of the annual Academy Awards, or Oscars, since the 5th Academy Awards, covering the year 1931–32, to the present.

The Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature Film is an award for documentary films. In 1941, the first awards for feature-length documentaries were bestowed as Special Awards to Kukan and Target for Tonight. They have since been bestowed competitively each year, with the exception of 1946. Copies of every winning film are held by the Academy Film Archive.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Williams</span> American composer and conductor (born 1932)

John Towner Williams is an American composer and conductor. In a career that has spanned seven decades, he has composed some of the most popular, recognizable, and critically acclaimed film scores in cinema history. He has a distinct sound that mixes romanticism, impressionism, and atonal music with complex orchestration. He is best known for his collaborations with Steven Spielberg and George Lucas and has received numerous accolades including 26 Grammy Awards, five Academy Awards, seven BAFTA Awards, three Emmy Awards, and four Golden Globe Awards. With 54 Academy Award nominations, he is the second-most nominated person, after Walt Disney, and is the oldest Oscar nominee in any category, at 91 years old.

This is a list of films by year that have received an Academy Award together with the other nominations for best documentary short film. Following the Academy's practice, the year listed for each film is the year of release: the awards are announced and presented early in the following year. Copies of every winning film are held by the Academy Film Archive. Fifteen films are shortlisted before nominations are announced.

The Atlantic International Film Festival is a major international film festival held annually in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada since 1980. AIFF is the largest Canadian film festival east of Montreal, regularly premiering the region's top films of the year, while bringing the best films of the fall festival circuit to Atlantic Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Citadel High School</span> High school in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

Citadel High School is a high school in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lusia Harris</span> American basketball player (1955–2022)

Lusia Mae Harris was an American professional basketball player. Harris is considered to be one of the pioneers of women's basketball. She played for Delta State University and won three consecutive Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) National Championships, the predecessors to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) championships, from 1975 to 1977. On the international level, she represented the United States' national team, and won the silver medal in the 1976 Olympic Games, the first women's basketball tournament in the Olympic Games. She played professional basketball with the Houston Angels of the Women's Professional Basketball League (WBL) and was the first and only woman ever, to be officially drafted by the National Basketball Association (NBA). For her achievements, Harris was inducted to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and Women's Basketball Hall of Fame.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mitchell Block</span> American filmmaker (1950–2024)

Mitchell W. Block was an American filmmaker, primarily a producer of documentary films.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kris Bowers</span> American composer and pianist

Kristopher Bowers is an American composer, pianist and documentary director. He has composed scores for films, including Green Book, King Richard, and The Color Purple, and television series, among them Bridgerton, Mrs. America, Dear White People, and When They See Us.

These are the lists of documentary films that were shortlisted for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature in recent years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brian Tetsuro Ivie</span> American filmmaker

Brian Tetsuro Ivie is a Japanese-American filmmaker, film producer and documentarian. He is the youngest active producer for Stephen Curry’s Unanimous Media empire. Ivie is most well-known for his documentary film, Emanuel, which tells the story of the 2015 Charleston church shooting, which took the lives of nine innocent African Americans. The film was produced by Viola Davis and Mariska Hargitay, & by NBA star Stephen Curry.

Ariel Nasr is a Canadian documentary film director. He is most noted as director of the films The Boxing Girls of Kabul, which won the Canadian Screen Award for Best Short Documentary at the 1st Canadian Screen Awards in 2013, and The Forbidden Reel, which was a winner of the Audience Award at the 2020 Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival, and as producer of Buzkashi Boys, which was an Academy Award nominee for Best Live Action Short Film at the 85th Academy Awards in 2013.

Impact Partners is an American film production and television production company founded in 2007, by Dan Cogan and Geralyn Dreyfous. The company primarily produces documentary films focusing on social issues.

A Concerto Is a Conversation is a 2021 American short documentary film directed by Ben Proudfoot and Kris Bowers.

<i>The Queen of Basketball</i> 2021 American film

The Queen of Basketball is a 2021 American documentary short film by Ben Proudfoot about basketball legend Lusia Harris. It premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival on June 10, 2021 and won the Academy Award for Best Documentary.

<i>The Last Repair Shop</i> 2023 Canadian/American short documentary film

The Last Repair Shop is a 2023 American short documentary film directed by Ben Proudfoot and Kris Bowers. Produced by Breakwater Studios, the film had its premiere on September 1, 2023 at the 50th Telluride Film Festival. On March 10, 2024, it won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Film at the 96th Academy Awards.

References

  1. ↑ "Halifax director Ben Proudfoot wins Oscar for 'The Queen of Basketball'". Global News. Canadian Press. March 28, 2022. Retrieved March 28, 2022.
  2. 1 2 3 "NBA greats O'Neal, Curry win Oscar for documentary on basketball legend Lusia Harris". CBC Sports. The Associated Press. March 27, 2022. Retrieved March 28, 2022.
  3. ↑ Stephen Cooke, "Halifax filmmaker Ben Proudfoot earns Oscar nod for documentary short film". Halifax Chronicle-Herald , March 15, 2021.
  4. 1 2 "Canadian director's Oscar-nominated film shines a light on 'Queen of Basketball' Lusia Harris". Day 6. CBC Radio. March 20, 2022. Retrieved March 21, 2022.
  5. ↑ Victoria Ahearn, "Canada’s Ben Proudfoot up for Oscar for short doc ‘A Concerto is a Conversation’". Toronto Star , March 15, 2021.
  6. ↑ "The full list of 2021 Oscars nominations". The Guardian. March 15, 2021. Retrieved March 15, 2021.
  7. ↑ "Colette" Wins Best Documentary Short Subject | 93rd Oscars
  8. ↑ 2021|Oscars.org
  9. ↑ 2024|Oscars.org
  10. 1 2 "'Absolutely incredible': Nova Scotia's Ben Proudfoot wins Oscar for short documentary". CTV News Atlantic. The Canadian Press. March 21, 2024. Retrieved March 22, 2024.
  11. 1 2 Susan Bradley, "Ben Proudfoot wins best director for short film at Raindance Film Festival". CBC News Nova Scotia, September 28, 2015.
  12. ↑ Aryn Toombs, "Winners of 2023 CIFF competitions unveiled". LiveWire Calgary, September 25, 2023.
  13. ↑ Cowan, Garrett (May 30, 2024). "ESPN Films Acquires "MOTORCYCLE MARY", a Thrilling New Short Documentary on the Life of Motorsports Pioneer Mary McGee". ESPN Press Room U.S. Retrieved July 2, 2024.
  14. ↑ 2022|Oscars.org
  15. ↑ 'The Queen of Basketball' Wins Best Documentary Short Subject|94th Oscars
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.