Oscar Win Inspires a Rush of Donations for LA Schools

'The Last Repair Shop' seeks to raise millions for a small group fixing instruments
By Gina Carey,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 23, 2024 2:15 PM CDT
Oscar Win Inspires a Rush of Donations for LA Schools
A scene from the trailer of 'The Last Repair Shop.'   (YouTube / Searchlight Pictures)

When The Last Repair Shop took home the Oscar for best documentary short film this year, it shone a spotlight on the people fixing instruments for kids in the Los Angeles public school system. Donations to the program, which has been cut back to 11 people from 60 in its heyday, have since been pouring in, the Washington Post reports. The film highlights four people who repair instruments in the district, which serves more than 540,000 students in 1,000 schools. "The work that we do is important and needs to be passed down, but people who do what we do are a dying breed," says Steve Bagmanyan, who was featured in the documentary and has been repairing instruments there for 21 years.

A fund organized by filmmakers Ben Proudfoot and Kris Bowers along with a foundation for the public school system has raised more than $71,000, and it seeks $15 million in total. "We made this film on our own dime for many years, four years," Proudfoot tells CBS News. "To see the impact that its making on students' lives at the end of the day is just incredible. And we really hope that this film has a lasting impact here in Los Angeles and beyond."

The school district plans to use the donations to hire more instrument technicians. They'll also create a student apprentice program to pass on the craft, equip the repair shop with the tools they need, and expand music classes. Bagmanyan tells the Post that he was planning to retire this year. "But now, I'm going to build the shop back to the level it once was and keep on going for a while." (More documentary film stories.)

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