Kitchener, Ont., studio plays pivotal role in Oscar-winning film

A Kitchener recording studio and a Stratford Festival veteran helped bring an Oscar-winning film to life. CTV’s Alexandra Holyk reports.

A recording studio in Kitchener, Ont., is being recognized for playing a pivotal part in an Oscar-winning film.

The Girl Who Cried Pearls won best animated short film at the Academy Awards on Sunday night; a first for Montrealers Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski.

The story is set in 20th-century Montreal and follows a boy living in poverty who becomes rich and falls in love with a girl whose tears turn into pearls.

The 17-minute puppet production is almost entirely voiced by Stratford Festival veteran Colm Feore. It was recorded in 2024 at Fred Smith Studio in Kitchener.

“Colm was quite free to read the way he wanted to read,” said Fred Smith, the studio’s owner and manager. “He wasn’t locked into anything in particular. And then, the magic happens.”

Smith said he’s been in the business for more than 40 years and has known Feore for nearly three decades.

“We pulled it off in about an afternoon,” said Smith. “And it was basically a regular day at the office for me.”

Smith said Feore was well-prepared for the shoot, though the process was intense.

“[The directors and writers] know what they want there,” he said. “And Colm can deliver exactly what they want.”

Despite the newfound fame, Smith said his studio aims to give all of its clients the “Oscar treatment.”

“We work as hard as we do on every single little project or any big project that comes in,” he said. “We don’t treat anything any differently.”

Smith also offered his own pearls of wisdom to aspiring artists.

“If you truly believe in what you’re doing then don’t let anything stop you from trying to pursue whatever that is that you want to pursue,” he said.

The Girl Who Cried Pearls is available to watch for free on YouTube or the National Film Board of Canada’s website.