Less than two years after moving to Los Angeles to pursue film, Sharee Silerio has made it big. The St. Louis native worked as production coordinator as part of the Academy Award-winning team behind “The Last Repair Shop,” which took home the 2024 Oscar for best documentary short.
The film tells the stories of Los Angeles Unified School District musicians and four devoted repair shop technicians who maintain and repair about 80,000 student instruments for the district. It’s a testament to the fulfillment that comes with repairing what’s broken and the power of music to transform a young person’s life.
“I was proud to be a part of this film because it brings to life the very real challenges that people deal with from day to day — not just adults, but also children,” Silerio said. “It lets me know that it can be done — that you can create work that you care about and that makes a difference and impacts people, but also is recognized by the film world as something that's worthy of being honored.”
Silerio joined St. Louis on the Air to discuss the film, her goal of telling stories in ways that showcase vulnerability and foster inspiration and her plans to come back to St. Louis to finish work on her film, “Black Girl, Bleu,” which explores mental health challenges and ways to cultivate healing and self-love.
Listen to the conversation on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube, or by clicking the play button below.
Related Event
What: STLPR presents “Best of Shorts”
When: 7 p.m. June 7 (film screenings begin at 8 p.m.)
Where: Public Media Commons (3653 Olive Street, St. Louis, MO 63108)
“St. Louis on the Air” brings you the stories of St. Louis and the people who live, work and create in our region. The show is produced by Ulaa Kuziez, Miya Norfleet, Emily Woodbury, Danny Wicentowski, Elaine Cha and Alex Heuer. Roshae Hemmings is our production assistant. The audio engineer is Aaron Doerr.
