Here’s The Story: I Talk To Strangers

Director: Steve Rogers
Documentary Feature
USA | 56 min
View trailer

Bob Ellis, of Ocean Grove, has a habit of talking to strangers and then inviting them to dinner. With no set of guidelines or requirements for why or how he greets the unknown, other than an interest in what they are doing or how they carry themselves, or whether or not they offer an easy smile, Ellis has a way of instantly connecting to people and drawing them into conversation. Twice a month he organizes dinner parties he calls Supper Clubs, inviting his new friends and old to share food and conversation. “It’s not about me,” he insists, “I’m just happy if they are. I just like bringing cool and interesting people together.” Ellis’ Supper Club or his fine art of “hello, how are you?” is hardly novel, but in a world where many lament that we are becoming more and more distrustful and less connected, his affinity for meeting new people, and feeding them seems more than a bit unusual. Filmmaker Steve Rogers followed Ellis around while he was meeting and greeting, and captured one of his annual Friendsgivings, a feast of new friends marking the start of the holidays. I Talk To Strangers tells the quirky, sweet tale of one man’s love and need to make strangers into friends, and then into dinner guests.

Preceded by Short Film/s: Forgotten and The Most Magnificent Thing and Lighten Up Batman
Preceded by Short Film/s: Pool