Area residents had key roles in memorable Oscar highlight

By Julia Green
It was one of the most talked-about moments of this year’s Oscar telecast Sunday night, save “Hurt Locker” director Kathryn Bigelow’s upset of ex-husband and “Avatar” director James Cameron in the Best Director category. And, it involved two people with Roxbury connections.
As film director and producer Roger Ross Williams took the stage to deliver his acceptance speech for the Best Documentary Short Oscar for the short film “Music By Prudence,” he found himself in a bit of an awkward moment.
Williams, who owns a home in Roxbury, was joined on stage – “Kanye’d,” in current lingo – by Elinor Burkett, fellow Roxbury resident and co-producer of the short film. True to the Kanye tag, Burkett cut off Ross’ speech and commandeered the mic – much like West’s much talked about interruption of Taylor Swift at last year’s Grammy Awards – and proceeded to deliver her own speech until the Academy cut the mic and ushered them offstage.
Still, the excitement at seeing members of the local community beneath the bright lights of the Oscar stage lingers, despite the awkward aftermath.
Williams, a television news, documentary and entertainment producer, director and writer, founded iThemba Productions, the company that produced “Music by Prudence.”
The documentary tells the story of 21-year-old Zimbabwean singer-songwriter Prudence Mabhena, who was born severely disabled into a society where disabilities carry the taint of witchcraft and who struggled to overcome poverty and discrimination. Mabhena formed the band Liyana with seven other young, disabled singers and musicians.
Liyana performed at The Roxbury Arts Group last January as part of its first-ever U.S. tour, shortly after the documentary – originally titled “iThemba: My Hope” – was picked up for distribution by HBO.
It has been reported that differing opinions between Williams and Burkett about the creative direction of the film led to a falling out. Sunday night’s award marked the first-ever Oscar for Williams and Burkett; “Music by Prudence” is scheduled for a TV broadcast on May 12.