Ben Proudfoot facts for kids

Ben Proudfoot (born October 29, 1990) is a Canadian filmmaker who makes short documentary movies. He has won two Academy Awards, also known as Oscars. He is the founder of Breakwater Studios, a company that creates short films about real people and events.

Early Life and Magic

Ben Proudfoot was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. His father was a lawyer and his mother was a sociologist. As a teenager, Proudfoot had a unique talent: he was a skilled sleight-of-hand magician. He won several Canadian and international magic competitions. He was also the first international member of The Magic Castle Junior Program in Los Angeles, a famous club for magicians.

Later, he moved to Los Angeles to study at the USC School of Cinematic Arts. For a class project in 2011, he made his first short documentary called ink&paper. The film was about two old-fashioned shops, a letterpress and a paper shop, trying to stay in business. The film became very popular online.

Building a Film Career

In 2012, Proudfoot started his own production company, Breakwater Studios. He named it after a protective seawall he and his father built in Nova Scotia when he was 12. The company focuses on making short documentaries.

Between 2011 and 2019, Proudfoot directed and produced many films. One notable film was That's My Jazz, which was about a famous pastry chef from the Michelin-starred restaurant, The French Laundry.

A major step in his career was a partnership with The New York Times. Together, they made about sixteen short films. This partnership led to some of his most famous work and his first Oscar.

Famous Documentaries

Award-Winning Films

Proudfoot has directed several films that have won or been nominated for major awards.

• A Concerto Is a Conversation* (2020) was nominated for an Academy Award. The film was supported by famous director Ava DuVernay.

• The Queen of Basketball* (2021) won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Film. This was a historic win, as it was the first Oscar ever for The New York Times. The film tells the story of Lusia "Lucy" Harris, one of the greatest women's basketball players of all time. It was supported by basketball stars Shaquille O’Neal and Stephen Curry.

• The Last Repair Shop* (2023) won Proudfoot his second Academy Award. The film is about a workshop in Los Angeles that provides free musical instrument repairs for public school students. This was the first Oscar win for the Los Angeles Times.

The 'Almost Famous' Series

Many of Proudfoot's films for The New York Times were part of a series called Almost Famous. This series told the stories of people who were close to major historical events but aren't widely known.

Some of these films include:

• The Silent Pulse of the Universe: This film is about astronomer Jocelyn Bell Burnell. She played a key role in discovering pulsars, but her professors received the Nobel Prize for the discovery.
• The Lost Astronaut: This film tells the story of Ed Dwight. He was chosen to be the first Black American astronaut candidate, but his career at NASA was cut short.
• Kim I Am: This film features Kim Hill, the original singer for the music group the Black Eyed Peas.

Other Notable Films

In 2022, Proudfoot directed MINK!. The film is about Patsy Mink, the first woman of color elected to the U.S. Congress. She was a key author of Title IX, an important law that prevents discrimination based on sex in education. Tennis star Naomi Osaka helped produce the film.

In 2024, he worked with ESPN Films on Motorcycle Mary. The film is about Mary McGee, the first woman to race motorcycles professionally in the United States. Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton was an executive producer.

Honors and Recognition

Besides his two Academy Awards, Ben Proudfoot has received many other honors. In 2020, Forbes Magazine named him one of its "30 Under 30" for his work in documentary filmmaking. In 2023, he was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee Medal by the government of Nova Scotia for his contributions.