Ben Proudfoot is a native of Nova Scotia and an alumnus of USC’s School of Cinematic Arts. Upon his graduation in 2012, Proudfoot founded Breakwater Studios Ltd., establishing the company’s headquarters in the building where Walt Disney started his business in 1923. Based on the collaborative principles of the original Hollywood Studio System, Breakwater Studios houses all creative departments under one roof.
Proudfoot initially found success as a student at USC, writing a directing the narrative short film Dinner with Fred, which qualified for the 2010 Oscars. His subsequent short documentary, ink&paper, follows side-by-side letterpress and paper shops in Downton Los Angeles struggling to survive in the modern world. ink&paper garnered hundreds of thousands of online views around the world was sold to Sony Pictures Television in 2012.
After graduation and under his Breakwater Studios banner, Proudfoot directed The Ox, another short documentary in the vein of ink&paper that surpassed its predecessor in popularity. The success of these two short films spawned the commission of a six-part docuseries on master craftspeople, Life’s Work, in 2015.
In early 2015, Proudfoot completed Rwanda & Juliet, his first feature documentary. Breakwater Studios is currently developing several feature film and television projects, including a television docuseries with Giada De Laurentiis’ Linguine Pictures.