Ben Proudfoot

CEO & Founder of Breakwater Studios

Told by her daughter Wendy, MINK. chronicles the remarkable Patsy Takemoto Mink, a Japanese American from Hawaii who became the first woman of color elected to the U.S. Congress, on her harrowing mission to co-author and defend Title IX, the law that transformed athletics for generations in America for girls and women.

Mink!

The Last Repair Shop

Tells the story of four unassuming heroes who ensure no student is deprived of the joy of music. It is also a reminder of how music can be the best medicine, stress reliever and even an escape from poverty.



The French Laundry, run by legendary chef Thomas Keller, has often been recognized as the best restaurant in the world, but few know the story of its original founder, Sally Schmitt. In an emotional final interview before her passing in March 2022, Sally tells her own story as a pioneering chef of California cuisine and sets the table for another way to look at life: where balance, rather than recognition, is the ultimate prize.


The Best Chef in the World 

We have big 50-year dreams for Breakwater Studios.

To explore and champion the power of the short documentary and reinvent the studio model of Old Hollywood, when all departments worked their magic on the same campus.

For now, we are working overtime to create the best short documentaries we can muster. We’re prolific in creating best in class short documentaries such as the Academy Award® winning The Queen of Basketball, and the Academy Award® nominated A Concerto is a Conversation, not to mention The Beauty President, Kunstglaser and Kim I Am. We’re proud that many of our films like May Day, Beautifully Savage, Why This Road: Dan Portelance, and The Youngest Captain which are made in direct partnership with discerning brands as a proven alternative to advertising.

The world is full of stories. And at Breakwater, we not only love finding the best stories, we love telling them in our signature style, employing our proprietary methodology. The proof is in the pudding. Just watch.