The Final Copy of Ilon Specht Review and Q+A with director Ben Proudfoot

The Final Copy of Ilon Specht, dir. Ben Proudfoot

After his Academy Award win in this year’s best documentary short film category with The Last Repair Shop, co-directed with Kris Bowers. Ben Proudfoot presents his latest project, The Final Copy of Ilon Specht. Ben is one of the short film community's most prolific filmmakers. Last year, he also released Forgiving Johnny before Telluride’s premiere of Repair Shop. Before that, he launched Tribeca’s Mink! and The Best Chef in the World. Ben continues to deliver projects and land in the principal festivals. Final Copy had its world premiere and won the Best Documentary Film award at the HollyShorts Film Festival. 

In his latest release, Ben documents copywriter/advertising icon Ilon Specht's last moments. She passed away on May 14th, 2024. Besides focusing on her legendary campaign for L’Óréal in 1971, she penned the brand’s tagline: “Because I’m Worth It.”, four words that have put her name in history forever. However, she has been reduced to a mere footnote on her historic run. As she states, Ilon had an aversion to men’s company at the office. They would exhale sexist opinions and would mine her ideas. At that time, beauty advertisements would be developed from the point of view of men, and she changed history forever by forcing her way in. 

However, Ben does not reduce his fifteen-minute film to her work as an advertiser. Her stepdaughter, Alison Case, states how she saved her life. Alison would describe her biological mother as nightmarish, a woman who would not care for her at all. Ilon stepped up, and even after the divorce of Alison’s father and her, Ilon was there for Alison. She would remind Alison that she mattered. She was worth it. 

At the peak of her feminist activism, Ilon delivered a slogan for a whole movement. At the height of the second wave of feminism, Ilon aligned a brand’s interest with women's advocacy. Even though Ilon and the brand served to profit in immersing themselves into the public interest, Ilon went beyond that.. She delivered a milestone for the beauty industry and all women in marketing after her. Ben insists on not forgetting about her role as a mother. Someone who did not birth Alison but has raised and remembered her that she mattered. 

Ben opts for outside takes of the castle-like residency where Ilon spent her last days. The close-up shots of furniture transmit her lifestyle; a fashioned woman until her last breath. You can see it in the beautiful wooden bedside tables or the floral wallpapers. There is a sense of beauty and care very present. Ben also positions the score to immerse the viewer into that 1960s corporate ambient through a jazzy sound that efficiently portrays nostalgia. He grabs the viewer in every sense; through looks, sounds, and emotions. 

The Final Copy of Ilon Specht may be Ben Proudfoot’s most polished work yet. After two Oscar wins, he proves there is plenty of room to improve himself and deliver emotional stories. As Ilon’s tagline would say, Ben's work is definitely still worth it to check out, as he presents the last beautiful moments of an impactful life. May Ilon rest in peace, and may her final words be celebrated by the public.

Review by: Pedro Lima

Q+A with Director Ben Proudfoot

ShortStick: Hey, Ben! Thank you so much for talking to us. Firstly, you have been one of the most prolific directors in the industry. How do you develop your documentaries quickly, but still successfully insert your style and quality over them? 

Ben Proudfoot: Thank you for inviting me! That's an interesting question. I know it probably seems like we are making our films rather quickly because of the frequency of their release, but actually it usually takes multiple years to make our films. THE FINAL COPY OF ILON SPECHT is an outlier as we worked hard to get that film to the public as soon as we could in the wake of Ilon’s passing. THE LAST REPAIR SHOP, on the other hand, was a five year journey from first learning about the shop to the Oscars stage. And that journey continues with the capital campaign Kris and I are working on. So I would say that there is no shortcut or quickness to most of what we do — we spend years and years working on the films, but since I am working on many films simultaneously with sometimes separate or mixed teams who are all pushing forward on each project, we are a productive studio. One thing we hold paramount is just not releasing the film until it is done and we can't make it any better. And that is how we can assure the quality and craft. You just have to put in the time. 

ShortStick: Last year, you won an Academy award, your second, for The Last Repair Shop, in which you shared the directing chair with Kris Bowers. Could you tell me about your partnership with Kris and the difference between directing with him and solo?

Ben: Kris and I have a beautiful partnership steeped in improvisation and plussing each other's ideas. I was a teenage magician and he was a teenage jazz pianist. We are both good at thinking on our feet. We both come from the world of “yes, and” in terms of discussing ideas. It’s an open world and there are no bad ideas. And we trust each other so when one of us is adamant that a certain path is worth exploring (like Kris wanting to interview the students in THE LAST REPAIR SHOP) we trust that the other person sees something we don’t. And that seems to have worked out well. I also think that Kris brings a really refined sensibility as an artist and that is a good counterpoint to my instincts which can be more sentimental and on the nose. I’ve learned a lot from him on that. And of course he is a master of music so our films always have incredible music and integration between sound and music across the board. Plus it’s more fun to direct with him because we are such good friends and we’re not alone making decisions!

ShortStick: Your films have been playing at the world’s most important festivals: Tribeca, Telluride, and HollyShorts, to cite a few. How do you feel about being selected for such prestigious festivals?

Ben: I feel honored and I don’t take it for granted. It is still very easy for me to access the memories before any film festivals were considering my films so I feel incredibly lucky and grateful every single time we hear word that a festival wants to play our film. It’s an honor for your film to be shown on the big screen and often these festivals have full, vibrant and supportive audiences that really make for a great film sharing experience. They are “pinch me” experiences that I try to really drink in, every time have the chance to attend one.

ShortStick: You’re the founder and CEO of Breakwater Studios. Recently, Haley Watson’s Motorcycle Mary premiered at Tribeca and was acquired by ESPN Studios, which you have an executive production credit. How do you embark on the production of a short? What’s your decision process to attach yourself to a project?

Ben: For films that I am involved with as an EP, generally these are projects, like Haley Watson and Rachel Greenwald’s MOTORCYCLE MARY or Whitney Skauge’s THE BEAUTY PRESIDENT, that have come to me as an idea or aspiration from someone we work with closely at Breakwater, in both cases employees of the company when the idea first arose. So I will hear the pitch, and I really go from a combination of a gut reaction — Do I want to see that film? Would I click on it? Are these filmmakers inspired? To a more thoughtful process of considering the company's ability to fund the film with fellow leaders within Breakwater. We only have so many resources so we want to make sure we can make the project a success. But it’s as much a bet on the story as it is on the filmmaking team, and it gives me great joy to be able to occasionally, as resources allow, help other filmmakers who are passionate about their stories and the form of short documentary bring their dreams to life. I want to give them the resources I wish I had when I was beginning to direct. That has been wonderful and I will continue to do it as much as I can.

ShortStick: Most of your stories are about forgotten heroes. Lusia Harris, Ilon Specht, Patsy Mink, among others. A lot of these people are very unknown to the general public, especially to those around our age who weren’t alive at the time of their glory. How do you end up finding these stories? Is it something you are constantly seeking out or stuff you happen upon in your life? Given their relative obscurity do you feel a lot of pressure or weight on you to tell the story just right? 

Ben: Yes, I think telling these kinds of stories are a superpower for short documentaries in particular. Because audiences may not have enough context to elect to sit for 2 hours learning about a person they haven’t heard of, but they’re willing to spend 20 minutes to learn. And then they are hooked. And I see that as a great privilege and opportunity to use what spotlight we have to bring huge attention to stories that have too often been ignored, that have been sidelined to the fringes of our culture, and bring them to the center so that they are recognized and we can get the chance to reconsider our own worldview with more information and a deeper understanding of the array of stories and people that history holds.

I find stories I turn into films all kinds of ways. People tell me stories. I read Wikipedia. Sometimes books. Driving by something and googling what it is. A museum exhibit. An old roadside plaque. But it’s always the same fuel: curiosity. You get hooked by something and you say to yourself: People should know this story. Why don’t people know this story? And it becomes an itch that is only scratchable by making a film. 

I feel an immense responsibility to the people we collaborate with — the storytellers who are at the center of our films — to get it right. No film can tell a complete story. But we can tell a story that captures the essence of the whole. And that’s what we aim for. A film that the person themselves or their closest friends watch and say “You got it. That’s the story right there.” And hopefully that inspires people to further research and maybe even further filmmaking. 

ShortStick: You, like two of our writers Brandon and Josh, grew up in Canada. Brandon distinctly remembers as a 90s kid watching cartoons on YTV and seeing the Loreal Kids commercials with the colourful fish bottles and the slogan “Because we’re worth it too” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jY2laKwjf1s for reference). Do you have any distinct memories that drew you towards the slogan and wanting to know the woman behind it, or was it just a general awareness?

Ben: That's so funny that you bring that up because now that I watch it, I completely remember it vividly (down to the dolphin sound effect!) and I remember not understanding the "No Tears!" part because I had never had shampoo get in my eyes. But yes, watching that commercial (on YTV) is probably the first time I every came into contact with Ilon's work! Thanks for the walk down memory lane.

ShortStick: Recently, you won HollyShorts best documentary award for The Final Copy of Ilon Specht. It is the last live recording of Ilon. How was it to interview her before her death?  

Ben: I am very grateful to HollyShorts for honoring our team and Ilon and Alison in that special way. Wow. Filming with Ilon was a profound experience, and one that I think the entire team felt a big responsibility around. It was a small team of us that she invited into her home. Rachel Greenwald, the film's producer did a great job gracefully working around Ilon's needs. I lost my Dad in 2020 and I can't imagine anyone having a camera in our home at that time. So I was extremely sensitive to that, but Ilon also made it clear that she had something she wanted to say, and she wanted to share it on her terms in her own voice. So that made the whole situation different and geared toward serving her. Looking back, I think we were there providing a kind of palliative service which in our case was helping Ilon get her version on the record, its own kind of healing and closure. I hope it brought her some peace.

ShortStick: In Final Copy, music performs an important role in the film. It is responsible to immerse the public in the 1960s NYC corporate universe. What were your conversations with your composer to define what style would you follow in the film? 

Ben: The brilliant composer Katya Richardson and I spotted the film at length and talked about various references including the jazzy 60's material she wrote for the Madison Avenue introduction. We wanted to bring the audience into that era of brash chauvinism and cigarette smoke. And I think Katya did an amazing job (as she always manages to do, as if by magic) bringing the emotion to the fore without ever feeling maudlin or forced. I also love the industrious string cue she wrote for the sequence where Ilon writes the tagline.

ShortStick: Lastly, we are always curious to discover what filmmakers are watching and drawing inspiration from. What is a film you saw recently that you loved or really stood out to you?

Ben: I recently rewatched THE VERDICT by Sidney Lumet written by David Mamet starring Paul Newman. Just a total masterpiece of acting, writing, directing, production design — everything. Just a gorgeous and simple film that is so haunting, moving and rich. Pay attention in the final courtroom scene. Note that the floor of the room is checkered red and brown — the motif colors of both sides of the trial — and for a bit of fun keep an eye out for a young Bruce Willis in the courtroom spectators seating!

ShortStick: Great rec! Thanks for taking the time to answer a few questions, wishing you all the best! Congrats on the best documentary win at Hollyshorts! Well deserved.

Ben: Thank you very much for taking the time and most importantly for advocating for the short film. We appreciate you and we need you!