5Q's w/Steve Lerner and Reuben Aaronson "Strangers In Town" Directors
#1: Can you describe your movie and why somebody should see it?
Strangers In Town is a moving antidote to the histrionics that often block reasonable dialogue about immigration in these turbulent times.
#2: What do you want the Borrego Springs Film Festival audience to know about your film that isn’t obvious from its title?
Strangers In Town tells the story of how conservative Garden City, Kansas, unexpectedly evolved into a welcoming community for people from all over the world, told solely in the voices of people who have lived and worked there. We filmmakers helped Garden Citians tell their own surprising story, one that we believe the rest of the country can benefit from. Much of the film features high school students who have grown up only knowing an incredible level of ethnic and racial diversity all of their lives.
#3: What is your movie making background? Tell us about yourselves.
Reuben Aaronson is a highly acclaimed filmmaker and cinematographer based in Los Angeles whose distinctive work reflects a wide range of experience spanning more than forty years. Reuben traveled the world to shoot and direct award-winning films about the human experience for National Geographic, Discovery, HBO, PBS and many independent projects. From Academy Awards to Emmys, Aaronson's work is consistently recognized for its beauty and sensitivity. To see more about Reuben’s work, go to http://ngofilms.net/
Steve Lerner is a psychologist, filmmaker, and musician. He got his start in filmmaking with his childhood friend Reuben, when they collaborated on a film in 1972 called Cycle. The film won Honorable Mention at the Marin County Film Festival, and was used for years by noted psychologist Erik Erickson in his teaching. Later Steve founded Menninger Video Productions at the Menninger Clinic in Topeka. There he produced and directed more than a dozen educational films for mental health professionals, and continued making such programs independently for several years after leaving Menninger. For the last decade, he has focused on documentary films, the last two in collaboration with Reuben. For additional information about Steve’s work, go to https://stevelerner.net/
#4: What was the biggest lesson learned in getting your film made?
As co-directors, and close childhood friends, Reuben and I didn’t always agree on decisions both large and small. Big surprise! What we learned: our film benefited from our at times difficult, yet loving collaboration. It is a far better film as a result, and we are both proud of it.
#5: What does the future hold for your film and you? We are screening Strangers In Town as often as possible, and distributing it for free as widely as we can to get its message out there: that this community embraced diversity and immigration, and is thriving as a result. Reuben continues to shoot a variety of independent film projects both in LA and elsewhere. Steve, a songwriter as well as a filmmaker, has begun work on a music video based on one of his compositions.
