Skip to main content

Woman’s quest to overcome fears through Facebook journey documented by filmmaker

At the start of 2010, ArLynn Presser from Winnetka, Illinois made a New Year’s resolution to meet all of her Facebook friends before the year was out.

Having 325 friends on the social networking site meant that such a feat would be in the realm of possibility, though by no means easy. In fact, for 51-year-old ArLynn, it wouldn’t be easy at all.

Suffering from agoraphobia, she had hardly been outside her home in 30 years. However, she was determined to take on the self-imposed challenge and travel the world to meet people she had only ever communicated with online.

Halfway through the year, she met Facebook friend 140, filmmaker Ben Gonzales. He immediately thought ArLynn’s adventure would make a compelling documentary and proposed the idea to her. She agreed.

Having come in halfway through her quest, Gonzales had obviously missed many of ArLynn’s meetings, but luckily for him she’d been using a basic video camera to document them. Budget constraints prevented Gonzales from following her to many of the countries she went on to visit, so he asked her son Joseph, who was accompanying her on her trip, to film with an HD camera.

ArLynn’s challenging journey has taken her to 13 countries, including South Korea, India and England, and so far she’s met 288 of her Facebook friends.

Along the way she did a number of things she could never have imagined just a few months before, like taking opera singing lessons and even learning how to be a bodyguard.

Despite some ‘friends’ unfriending her when hearing of her idea, the vast majority were happy to meet. “Most people have been incredibly welcoming,” she told the Vancouver Sun. Two of her Facebook friends were animals—she met them too, of course.

With ArLynn still on her quest to meet all of her friends, Gonzales’ documentary, Face to Facebook, is still in production.

Looking at the footage he’s gathered so far, the filmmaker is confident he’s captured something special. “It’s hard not to get emotionally involved in the story,” he said. “It’s great to see her growth, her journey, her transformation….it’s quite remarkable.” Gonzales hopes the movie (trailer below) will be completed in the coming months.

If given the opportunity, would you relish the opportunity to meet all your Facebook friends face to face, or would you rather keep the meeting place online?

 

Trevor Mogg
Contributing Editor
Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…
The best thrillers on Amazon Prime Video right now
Jake Gyllenhaal stands in a parking lot in Road House.

Many thriller movies are designed to get our hearts pumping a mile a minute. Others take a more subtle approach to entertaining us by presenting us with more questions than answers and far too few clues. Then there’s the surprising genre pics that go in a completely different direction. But whichever way you enjoy your thrills, we think one of the best ways to stream these cinematic shocks is through Amazon Prime Video. 

Every month, we update this rotating roundup of the best thrillers you can watch on Prime Video right now. Our selection process is geared toward unearthing classics and new films alike, with attention paid to critical reception, runtime, rating, and other criteria. We do our best to find something for everyone, so be sure to check back soon for even more thriller titles.
Amazon Prime may have a robust catalog, but it doesn't have everything. Luckily, we've also curated roundups of the best thrillers on Netflix and the best thrillers on Hulu.

Read more
10 best PG-13 horror movies ever, ranked
Mary Elizabeth Winstead and John Goodman in 10 Cloverfield Lane.

True horror aficionados tend to prefer R-rated films for all of the gore, violence, and scares that are too extreme for PG-13 horror movies. However, R-rated horror movies don't tend to become blockbusters very often when compared to their PG-13 counterparts. It's also easy to forget that the PG-13 rating was created in the mid-80s when the standard PG rating was no longer sufficient for films like Gremlins or Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.

While many of the best horror movies ever made, like The Exorcist, have effectively used their R-rated content, PG-13 horror movies tend to be a bit more creative to have the same effect. Many of our picks for the greatest PG-13 horror movies have come out within the last 24 years, which suggests that modern filmmakers have become more adept at playing within those limits. Keep reading, and you'll see why the following films are the best PG-13 horror movies.
10. The Grudge (2002)

Read more
All of James Cameron’s movies, ranked
Arnold Schwarzenegger in The Terminator.

At the 1998 Oscars, James Cameron infamously declared that he was "king of the world" while picking up the awards for Best Director and Best Picture for Titanic. As much as that line didn't go over well at the time, it's kind of hard to argue against Cameron. In the last 42 years, Cameron has directed nine feature films, three of which are among the highest-grossing movies of all time. He's not just one of the top directors in Hollywood -- Cameron is the most successful director ever.

Later this year, Cameron's breakout picture, The Terminator, will celebrate its 40th anniversary. In honor of that milestone, we're taking a look back at all of James Cameron's movies and ranking them from worst to first. Note that we're limiting this list to the feature films that Cameron directed, and not counting the two documentaries he helmed as well.
9. Piranha II: The Spawning (1982)

Read more