Award-winning documentary filmmaker from N.J. focuses on personal stories

HAMILTON - The title "chief storyteller" fittingly describes Hamilton resident Steve Besserman.

Besserman started the documentary production company, AriJoe Productions, in 2010 originally for the sole purpose of creating a personal documentary about his parents' survival of the Holocaust.

Steve Besserman of AriJoe Productions points to a framed photo of him and his father when "Only A Number" premiered. (Lindsay Rittenhouse | For NJ.com)

He said now his company has expanded to provide video documentaries for small to mid-size businesses, non-profit organizations and individuals who want to preserve and share their life stories or family history.

"I always had a passion for storytelling," Besserman said. "I encourage people all the time to tell their story in whatever manner they can."

Some of his works include documentaries for the non-profit HomeFront, and Acadaca, an ecommerce technology platform company.

Others include "Bunnie," which is about a 97-year-old woman growing up in the 1920s. She tells her emotional life story of overcoming challenges to secure her independence.

"I guess I kind of consider myself a humanist," Besserman said. "There are a lot of good stories out there. I like getting to know people from all walks of life."

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AriJoe is short for his mother's name Aranka, "Ari," and his father's name Joseph, "Joe," who are both Holocaust survivors.

In 2012, "Only A Number" premiered. The documentary recounts his parents' experience in a Nazi concentration camp where they met, fell in love and survived.

Besserman said the documentary has won several best feature documentary awards, has been shown at five film festivals, was broadcast nationally on PBS and is now a part of the New Jersey school curriculum.

Steve Besserman of AriJoe Productions looks at a wall covered with framed photos of his family who are "everything" to him. (Lindsay Rittenhouse | For NJ.com)

Besserman traveled to Hungary, Poland and Germany to film the documentary when his mother was developing severe dementia. She died shortly before the film's premier.

"I grew up with a very early knowledge of the Holocaust," Besserman said. "It explained a lot about why I didn't have grandparents and why my parents had numbers on their arms."

Although his mother was more open about talking about her experiences in the Holocaust, his now 92-year-old father was a closed book on the subject matter.

Besserman, having just celebrated his 40th wedding anniversary to wife Resa Besserman, stresses "family comes first."

He said he has two sons Joshua and Michael Besserman, four grandchildren and a fifth on the way.

"The fact that I am a child of Holocaust survivors has influenced me in many, many ways," Besserman said.

He said he is happy the documentary is being used to educate students and plans to surround his grandchildren with knowledge of their family history once they are older.

Now with AriJoe Productions, Besserman said he just wants to help get the story out of any client he works with whether it be an individual, company or non-profit.

"If a picture is worth a thousand words then a video is worth a thousand pictures," he said.

Lindsay Rittenhouse may be reached at lrittenhouse@njadvancemedia.com. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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