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The Last Repair Shop
The Last Repair Shop film poster.jpg
Official poster
Directed by
Produced by
  • Ben Proudfoot
  • Jeremy Lambert
  • Josh Rosenberg
  • Kris Bowers
Starring
  • Dana Atkinson
  • Paty Moreno
  • Duane Michaels
  • Steve Bagmanyan
Music by
Cinematography David Feeney-Mosier
Editing by Nick Garnham Wright
Studio Breakwater Studios
Distributed by
Release date(s) September 1, 2023 (2023-09-01) (Telluride)
Running time 39 minutes
Country
  • United States
Language English

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 premiered 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.

Summary

Since 1959, Los Angeles has been one of the few United States cities to offer and fix musical instruments for its public school students at no cost. Those instruments, numbering around 80,000, are maintained at a Los Angeles downtown warehouse by a handful of craftspeople. The film profiles four of them, each specializing in an orchestra section, as well as students whose lives have been enriched by the repair shop's work. The film concludes with a performance by district alumni.

Cast

  • Dana Atkinson
  • Paty Moreno
  • Duane Michaels
  • Steve Bagmanyan

Production

Proudfoot and Bowers previously co-directed Concerto is a Conversation, a 2022 Oscar nominee in the short documentary category. The film's producer, Jeremy Lambert, passed along an article on the Los Angeles Unified School District's 64-year-old instrument repair workshop.

The workshop, much smaller than Bowers had imagined when he was an LAUSD student, became the subject of the film, including profiles of four of the workshop's craftspeople. Bowers, whose first instrument was a school-provided saxophone, felt they should also profile students. Among the staff interviewed was Steve Bagmanyan, a piano technician and an Armenian refugee from Azerbaijan, who had tuned the pianos Bowers had used in elementary and middle school.

Release

The film had its world premiere on September 1, 2023 at the 50th Telluride Film Festival in the 'Main Slate: Episodic Form and Short Form' section. On September 24, it won Best Documentary Short Film at the 2023 Calgary International Film Festival.

It was screened at the Middleburg Film Festival in October 2023. In that same month, Searchlight Pictures and L.A. Times Studios acquired the film, making it available for free on the Los Angeles Times YouTube channel and website on November 8, 2023 and on Disney+ and related platforms worldwide on January 23, 2024.

On February 16, 2024, the film was screened on more than 700 screens in the U.S. and Canada as part of ShortsTV’s 19th Annual Oscar Nominated Short Films theatrical release.

The film aired on American Broadcasting Company owned television stations and select affiliates on February 17, 2024. It is the first Oscar-nominated short film to air on television.

Impact of the film on social milieu

LAUSD Education Foundation is embarking on a $15 million campaign to benefit the musical instrument repair operation documented in The Last Repair Shop. The fund will support the workshop and its talented staff, and also sponsor a training program for students who will become future instrument technicians.

Accolades

Award Date of ceremony Category Recipient(s) Result Ref.
Calgary International Film Festival October 1, 2023 Best Documentary Short Film The Last Repair Shop Won
Middleburg Film Festival October 22, 2023 Sheila Johnson Vanguard Award Kris Bowers Won
Critics' Choice Documentary Awards November 12, 2023 Best Short Documentary The Last Repair Shop Won
Best Score Katya Richardson & Kris Bowers Nominated
Hollywood Music in Media Awards November 15, 2023 Best Original Score – Short Film (Documentary) The Last Repair Shop Nominated
Astra Film and Creative Awards January 6, 2024 Best Short Film Nominated
Black Reel Awards January 16, 2024 Outstanding Independent Short Film Nominated
Academy Awards March 10, 2024 Best Documentary Short Film Ben Proudfoot and Kris Bowers Won

See also

  • Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Film
  • Submissions for Best Documentary Short Academy Award
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