2022

Editor’s Note: Ben Proudfoot won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Subject with his film The Queen of Basketball on March 27, 2022.

By John Priddy

We are honored and privileged to announce Ben Proudfoot as the 2022 Spirit of Windrider Award Winner. Ben is an Academy Award-nominated filmmaker and Forbes 30 under 30 entrepreneur. As CEO, Founder and creative engine of Breakwater Studios, Ben is a pioneer of deeply humanistic short documentary-style filmmaking. He is deserving of this honor for the excellence of his craft and his brilliance in revealing profoundly resonant themes through his work.

Ben started Breakwater Studios with the mission to “bring all of the filmmaking craft, all of the creative departments under one roof, in one place, the way movies used to be made and the way we all wish they could be made today.” Headquartered in Walt Disney’s original office building, Breakwater Studios handcrafts true stories in a uniquely cinematic, classical style. 

In 2021, Ben’s film A Concerto is a Conversation was nominated for an Academy Award. Created in collaboration with award-winning composer, Kris Bowers, A Concerto is a Conversation is a stunningly intimate portrayal of a life well lived. Framed by a conversation between Kris and his grandfather Horace, the film reveals how Kris’ accomplishments were made possible by his grandfather’s hard work, perseverance and ingenuity. A witness to the value of intergenerational dialogue, A Concerto is a Conversation inspires awe and gratitude for those who have come before us. Recovering wisdom from older generations helps us to adopt a healthier posture towards the challenges we face today.

In an interview with the Windrider team, Proudfoot says that the “deepest calling of cinema” is to “deliver a spiritual experience.” Ben possesses a gift of radical receptivity which opens his heart to the deeper significance of stories playing out in human lives. He uses short documentary-style filmmaking as a medium to frame these stories and elevate the dignity of the individuals within them. Breakwater Studios has made an immense contribution to our culture by chronicling true stories of remarkable individuals and presenting them in ways that reveal their undeniable significance.

Proudfoot’s documentaries challenge our notions of meaning in life and reveal transcendent realities in intimate ways. Ben captures and shares the complexities of human experience, delivering hopeful messages that are healing for our times. 

"Though we can't be together in person, it's the Spirit of Windrider that holds us together." 
— Ben Proudfoot

At Windrider we endeavor to pursue the true, the good and the beautiful. Proudfoot’s films reveal the connections between all of us, between generations, across racial and socioeconomic divides. His work speaks volumes into the present moment, delivering perennial truths in relevant ways. Ultimately, Ben’s films help us unite in our shared humanity. 

Thank you for your art and congratulations Ben, on being the 2022 Spirit of Windrider!