Meet Aiden Keltner | Filmmaker
We had the good fortune of connecting with Aiden Keltner and we’ve shared our conversation below.
Hi Aiden, what’s the most difficult decision you’ve ever had to make?
I think the most important and most difficult decision I have had to make was whether I would choose to go to college, and specifically to film school. I come from a family of academics, my mother has a Master’s and my father has a PhD and MD. Since I was 8 I knew I wanted to be a filmmaker, the question was how I would go about doing it and would I follow in their tracks through college.
In high school, I started working on sets at different film schools. I would take a train to LA, stay in a hostel, and volunteer on different sets at the American Film Institute, USC and UCLA. I learned an incredible amount from working with the students and I was able to sit in on some lectures, but most of all I learned from being on set. Being present as you are actually making a film I believe is the single best way to learn the mechanics of how a film actually gets made.
So as I neared graduation, I had to make a decision; I felt the connections and knowledge I had already gained and the money I would save, far outweighed what any film school program had to offer.
Since I did not attend film school, I have had the ability to pursue my filmmaking with freedom to control my own career path. Today, I direct and collaborate on narrative films and commercials in San Diego and Los Angeles.
Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
My main focus as a filmmaker is on telling stories about people with lived experience with mental illness, and specifically serious mental illness. My father is a psychiatrist and I have close family members with serious mental illness, so this subject has always been close to my heart. My most recent film, Crane, which I produced with support from a grant from Voices with Impact, tells the story of a girl whose father has a serious mental illness and is currently in a psychiatric hospital. My previous film Amazing Grace tells the story of a mother caring for her adult son with schizophrenia. I was very grateful that Amazing Grace was awarded Best Drama Short Film at San Diego Film Week and received the Audience Award for Best Local Narrative Short Film at Coronado Island Film Festival.
If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
It is cliché, but I don’t think you can go wrong in San Diego by visiting the beaches, they are famous for a reason. Mission Beach, La Jolla Shores, or Pacific Beach are all great options. But if you are looking for other activities, I would look around Old Town or North Park to get a sense of the culture and history in San Diego. If you like Chinese food and specifically dim sum, I would make sure to check out Jasmine Seafood Restaurant on Convoy, but you will also find numerous different options for great Chinese food in that area.
Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I have a lot of people to thank, my talented creative collaborators, the mentors who first allowed me the opportunity to get on set, but most of all I’d like to thank my parents as it was their encouragement and support that gave me the confidence to pursue my own path.
Website: https://www.aidenkeltner.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aidenkeltner/
Image Credits
Oscar Perez & Frank Farooq
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