Stories We Carry : A Selection of Short Films

Ben Proudfoot - The Lost Astronaut

Ben Proudfoot is a two-time Academy Award®–winning documentary filmmaker and the founder and CEO of Breakwater Studios. Hailing from Nova Scotia and now based in Los Angeles, Proudfoot is known for his masterful short films that spotlight overlooked stories with heart and cinematic precision. His work includes The Queen of Basketball, A Concerto is a Conversation, and The Last Repair Shop, the latter becoming the most-searched film on Disney+ following its Oscar® win in 2024.

Through Breakwater Studios, Proudfoot has pioneered a sustainable model for short-form nonfiction, producing acclaimed collaborations with partners like The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, Google, and UNICEF. He is a passionate advocate for the impact of short documentaries and a mentor to emerging filmmakers.

Laurence Lévesque - Perséides

In 2019, Laurence Levesque  directed a short documentary, PORT D’ATTACHE. The film was selected at Visions du Réel, won the Best National

Short Film Award at RIDM and was nominated for best short film at the Québec-Cinéma gala.  In 2022, Laurence completes a master’s degree in which she reflects on documentary writing and the narrative modes that make up reality. She won the Philippe-Ménard  prize for best creative thesis. Her first feature film, OKURIMONO (2024), had its world premiere at Visions du réel and its North American premiere at the Hot Docs festival, where Laurence won the Earl A. Glick Award for emerging Canadian filmmaker.

Haley Watson - Motorcycle Mary

Haley Watson is known for crafting films that illuminate the depth and complexity of the human experience. In June 2025, she premiered Songs of Black Folk—her second consecutive world premiere at the Tribeca Festival. Her 2024 debut at Tribeca, the short documentary Motorcycle Mary, was executive produced by Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton and the double Academy Award–winning Breakwater Studios. The film was acquired by ESPN Films for its acclaimed 30 for 30 series and was nominated for an Emmy. Motorcycle Mary introduced Watson’s distinctive voice to a global audience. Earlier in her career, Watson originated the story concept for The Queen of Basketball, which went on to win the Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Subject. She began her filmmaking journey in the camera department, earning recognition from AFI’s Cinematography Intensive for Women and the ASC Vision Mentorship Program.

Julia Jansch - Dears In The Headlights

Julia is a South African and Tribeca-winning filmmaker whose films have been distributed by Disney, MTV, and The New Yorker. Her short My Father the Mover won Best Documentary Short at Tribeca 2020 and was acquired by MTV Studios. Exec-produced by Sheila Nevins, it was called “a fight for breath and air amidst the current deadly stillness.” It was also Critics Choice-nominated. In 2022, Elsa premiered at Tribeca and was acquired by The New Yorker. The Academy is set to premiere on Disney+ in 2025, and Dears in the Headlights premiered at Big Sky this February. Julia is in production on her debut feature documentary on the underground sport of car spinning and is packaging her debut narrative feature, The Big Five, produced by Coco Francini. Julia holds a Bachelor of Arts in Politics and Philosophy from the University of Stellenbosch, a Master’s in International Relations and an MBA, both from the University of Oxford. She also holds a filmmaking diploma from The New York Film Academy.

Scott Faris - Appalheads

Scott Faris is the co-director, cinematographer and editor of Impossible Town (Mountainfilm 2023). He grew up in West Virginia and was a wide-eyed rube at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts before teaching fifth grade on the Rosebud Indian Reservation in South Dakota. After working as a video producer for various educational nonprofits, Faris co-founded Universe Creative, an LA-based documentary production company, with his friend and long-time colleague Meg Griffiths. Faris enjoys stories that challenge conventional wisdom and preconceived notions about people and places often overlooked by popular media. He is proud to have visited all 50 U.S. states. He is a 2021 Mountainfilm Commitment Grant winner.