Face 2 Face (2012 American film)
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| Face 2 Face | |
|---|---|
 Face 2 Face Poster | |
| Directed by | Katherine Brooks |
| Produced by | Katherine Brooks, Cynthi Stefenoni |
| Starring | Katherine Brooks and 50 Facebook Friends |
| Cinematography | Maria T. Senger |
| Edited by | Maria T. Senger |
Release date |
|
Running time | 107 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $+80,000[1] |
Face 2 Face is a feature-length documentary directed by Katherine Brooks[2] who traveled around the US to meet 50 of her Facebook friends she met online. These 50 people were chosen when Brooks posted a status update on her Facebook page that asked who was willing to spend a day with her and she would come to them and film the whole process. At the end of the project, 6 out of the 50 stories were edited into a film that was submitted to Sundance. Additional profits from the project were to be donated to the Trevor Project.
Beginning
It has evolved to reach the hearts of hundreds and to make people think and realize how much time is being spent on Facebook and Twitter when compared to the time spent with our friends and family. This is the main motive Katherine will be exploring with the people she'll be spending a day with and by the time this project comes to an end, we all hope to find the answer to the question: "How much has technology helped us or harmed us with strengthening our relationships with the people we love". Questions such as "Are we really friends? Do you really know me? Can I trust you? Are machines taking over? Are we losing our ability to connect with each other? Do other people feel alone in the world like me?" was being by Brooks as she noticed the amount of time people spent on their phones and computers, even when they are with someone else at a cafe.[3]
In an interview given to Daily Brink during the Newport Beach Film Festival, Brooks explains how the idea for the project was born. Brooks said:
I was recovering from surgery and went into a very deep depression. I wasn't happy with my career or my personal life and I wanted a change. I had literally felt as though I had hit a brick wall and was ready to give up on life. That was when I was staring at my Facebook page in tears and looking at how many friends I had, yet I felt so alone and disconnected from the world. It was in that moment I really had an intense awakening that if I was at a point in my life where I was ready to throw in the towel, I might as well do something that scared me ... to connect with people face 2 face. And so I grabbed my flip camera in that moment and typed a status update that said the first 50 people that say YES I am coming to your town with my camera and spending a day with you. I had no idea how I was going to make it happen, I just felt an inner guidance that it was what I needed to do. Within 15 minutes I had my 50 people and it kept going and going. People were pleading for me to come to their town and I felt I wasn't the only one who craved a little human connection.[4]
After receiving responses from more than 150 friends, the first 50 people were randomly chosen and then video journals about who is part of the project and which cities she was to travel were posted on Facebook and Twitter. The next step was to raise enough money to make the project successful.
Kickstarter
The Kickstarter campaign lasted for over a month. From the generous donations and contributions by Brooks's friends, family, and sponsors, a total of more than $80,000 was funded successfully. The moment the campaigning began, the project raised more than $10,000 in just a week. During the campaigning, various kinds of rewards were announced and these rewards were chosen by the contributors according to the amount given. Rewards included a shout-out video, signed NOH8 photo-shoot pictures, spending a day with Brooks or a co-producer credit in the film. Also, text and video journals were posted to keep all the members updated on the progression and changes in the project.[1]
Within three weeks of the campaigning, the project was successfully funded to its target goal of $50,000. But the contributions kept going on until the last hour of the period given. During this time, different forms of planning on how the film will be shot were declared. Some included hosting a first-ever 24 hours live documentary show, traveling around the country in an RV with the Face 2 Face designs on it, beanie hats with tiny cameras fitted inside, and so on. These proposals were posted as video journals by Katherine Brooks. But these were abandoned due to the staggering expense.[5]
Filming
The filming of the project began in the first week of June. The first of the 50 friends Brooks met was in Fort Wayne, Indiana. After two weeks of driving around the east coast, Brooks has traveled to New York, Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island. She will also be traveling around Colorado, North Carolina, Texas, and California. The completion of the shooting for Face 2 Face was to be marked when she heads back to her home in New Orleans.
