We’re partnering with The Eisner Foundation on a new program called Music Across Generations, which explores and celebrates how music brings generations together to bridge divides, create connection, and strengthen communities. This Q&A series shines a light on...
Event Recording: Music Across Generation – A film screening and conversation with Ben Proudfoot
https://youtu.be/CWHmDkN7i_E Join CoGenerate Founder and Co-CEO Marc Freedman in conversation with Ben Proudfoot, the Academy Award-winning filmmaker behind The Last Repair Shop, A Concerto Is a Conversation and That’s My Jazz — three films that showcase the power of...
Event Recording: Music Across Generations — Three Nonprofits Share Their Approaches – And Perform!
https://youtu.be/6Y-dZrgfV00 Music can bring generations together for connection and collaboration, inspiration and celebration. Join us to learn more about three nonprofits bringing generations together through music and, as a special bonus, listen in on three...
What Does It Mean for a Program to be Truly Youth-Led?
Across the country, a new wave of intergenerational collaboration is transforming how communities approach youth development. Some organizations are riding this momentum with ease, while others are still finding their footing. Amidst the buzz of books, webinars, and...
Two Oscar-winning Films Shine a Light on Intergenerational Connection
More evidence that there’s a cultural revolution underway
Despite the ongoing drumbeat of generational conflict (a hate story), right in front of us is evidence of a new narrative of cross-generational connection and collaboration (a love story).
That love story was on full display at the Grammys, most visibly in the Tracy Chapman/Luke Combs duets. And there it was again at last night’s Oscars, where two winning films were all about love across generations. More evidence that we’re in the middle of a cultural revolution evident in music, TV, film and other corners of the arts.
Alexander Payne’s “The Holdovers” is about an older, curmudgeonly teacher (Paul Giamatti) thrown together with a surly, maladjusted teenager (Dominic Sessa). It received five nominations and won Best Supporting Actress for Da’vine Joy Randolph, who plays a grieving cook also stuck in a stuffy 1970s New England prep school during winter break.
“The Holdovers” follows an intergenerational plot arc that has shown up in film after film, and that is well suited to our times. An older and younger person are thrown together against their will, sent on an adventure that often involves a road trip, and in the process come to save each other. In the end, their deep bond turns the story from a hate story to a love story. That’s the plot of “Hacks,” “The Intern,” and so many other intergenerational tales, including my favorite of all, Taika Waititi’s “Hunt for the Wilderpeople” (Waititi is also behind the intergenerational television series, “Reservation Dogs”).
But the best intergenerational film to win an Oscar last night was “The Last Repair Shop,” which triumphed in the Short Documentary (Short Subject) category. Indeed, the entire category was stuffed with memorable intergenerational films, including 29-year-old filmmaker Sean Wang’s ode to his maternal and paternal grandmas (96 and 86) living together in Fremont, “Nǎi Nai & Wài Pó” (the grandmas made smash appearances on the red carpet.) Another nomination in the category, “The ABCs of Book Banning,” focuses on centenarian Grace Linn and her battle to stop school boards from banning books for young people.
“The Last Repair Shop,” directed by Kris Bowers and Ben Proudfoot, and distributed by LA Times Studios and Searchlight, tells the hidden story of the office of the Los Angeles school district that repairs 80,000 free musical instruments for students. It’s built around four older craftspeople responsible for repairs of woodwinds, pianos, strings, and brass for students unlikely to be able to afford the instruments otherwise. The four share their own stories of overcoming adversity and their deep commitment, in the words of one commentary, “to ensure no student is deprived of the joy of music.”
The craftspeople remind me of the phrase “a silver-haired safety net.” Even without direct interaction with young musicians, the four elders are pillars in advancing the prospects of these young people — indeed, that is a primary motivation for the work they do.
It’s easy to focus on the power of direct connection between older and younger people–I always have–but this magnificent little film reminds us that the older generation can do so much to support the success of young people without even meeting them — especially when there is shared purpose, in this case the love of music. In his Oscar comments, filmmaker Kris Bowers observed that “Music education isn’t just about creating incredible musicians — it’s about creating incredible human beings.”
The psychologist Erik Erikson once said that the hallmark of successful adult development could be encapsulated in the phrase, “I am what survives of me.” Indeed, that quote might well hang over the hidden-away warehouse where the LAUSD instruments are repaired.
With a boost from the Oscars, here’s to hoping that the shop and the film about it will be hidden away no more. And that the love story the movie tells helps vanquish the hate story that is still too often heard.