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)…
10 best R-rated movies streaming right now
A woman and her child stands next to a dead body in Anatomy of a Fall.

R-rated movies are typically expected by audiences to push the boundaries of what can be depicted on the big screen. Whether it's gory horror movies or steamy erotic thrillers, these movies were designed specifically to get an "R" rating and be shown primarily to adults.

From modern masterpieces like Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer to classics like Alien, some of the best R-rated movies ever made are available to stream on different platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, and Max. With bold narratives and unfiltered realism, these are great picks for an enjoyable movie night among adult friends.

Read more
Stop! Watch these Netflix movies before March 2024 ends
Robert Pattinson in The Batman.

One of the blessings of streaming services like Netflix is that, in addition to their libraries of original titles, they also have titles that come and go on a regular basis. While the introduction of new titles is always nice, the downside is that titles usually leave the service when new ones join.

As March turns into April, we're going to lose some genuinely great movies on Netflix. While you still have time, though, you should check these three very different movies out.
Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974)
Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore - Original Theatrical Trailer

Read more
March Madness live stream 2024: Watch every Sweet 16 game
Logo for the Sweet 16 in March Madness.

With the always-thrilling first weekend of the NCAA tournament in the books, we now move from quantity to quality. As we get ready for the Sweet 16, each matchup from here on out will be of the must-watch variety. Just four wins sit between the remaining schools and a national championship, so you know there are plenty of huge moments on the way.

There are 12 games this weekend—eight Sweet 16 matchups on Thursday and Friday, and then four Elite 8 contests on Saturday and Sunday. They'll all be televised on either CBS, TBS, TNT or truTV. Fortunately, if you don't have cable, there are a bevy of options for watching the Big Dance for free or cheap.
Is There a Free March Madness Live Stream?

Read more