TORONTO -- Nova Scotia-raised filmmaker Ben Proudfoot has scored an Oscar nomination for "A Concerto is a Conversation."

He's named in the category of best documentary short subject, alongside American composer Kris Bowers, who co-directed with Proudfoot and is also featured in the short.

Oscar-nominated filmmaker Ava DuVernay is an executive producer on the doc, which follows Bowers as he tracks his family's lineage.

The journey takes the jazz pianist through the story of his 91-year-old grandfather from Jim Crow Florida, to the Walt Disney Concert Hall.

Bowers and Proudfoot's project screened at the virtual 2021 Sundance Film Festival.

The film was produced by Proudfoot's California-based Breakwater Studios.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 15, 2021.