'The Last Repair Shop' wins Oscar: Doc on LAUSD instrument shop takes home prize
'The Last Repair Shop' receives Oscar nomination
PREVIOUS: 'The Last Repair Shop' is a documentary that takes viewers inside a downtown LA warehouse where a small team of crafters tune, restring and maintain a number of instruments used by students in LAUSD. Directors Ben Proudfoot and Kris Bowers spoke on FOX 11 following their Oscar nomination.
LOS ANGELES - While for many the focus of Sunday's 96th Academy Awards ceremony was on the "Barbenheimers" and the A-List celebrities, a documentary about Los Angeles' local schools took home hardware in one of the documentary categories.
"The Last Repair Shop" won the Oscar for Best Documentary (Short Form) Sunday. The film tells the story of the small group of people who maintain the more than 130,000 musical instruments used by LAUSD students – for free. The film was co-directed by Ben Proudfoot and Kris Bowers.
FOX 11 spoke with the directors after "The Last Repair Shop" earned its Oscar nomination. In that interview, Proudfoot called the film "a celebration of music, and it's a call to arms to support arts and music education in our public schools."
Ben Proudfoot and Kris Bowers win Best Documentary (Short Subject) for "The Last Repair Shop" at the 96th Annual Oscars. (Photo by Rich Polk/Variety via Getty Images) (Rich Polk/Variety via Getty Images)
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: 'The Last Repair Shop' documentary strikes chord with Crenshaw students in emotional screening
The LAUSD's instrument repair shop is one of the last in the nation, and has been in operation since 1959. The documentary focuses on the shop's employees, and is interwoven with the stories of students using instruments they would not be able to afford otherwise. The film ends with an orchestral performance by both present-day LAUSD students and alumni.
Accepting the award alongside Proudfoot and Bowers was Porche Brinker, a 12-year-old LAUSD student who Bowers said was learning to play the violin.
"‘The Last Repair Shop’ is about the heroes in our schools who often go unsung, unthanked and unseen," Bowers said. "Tonight, you are sung, you are thanked and you are seen."