a secret sci-fi film shot in China starring Ai Weiwei

THE SAND STORM () is a dystopian science fiction film set in the not-too-distant future. It isa low-fi sci-fi short, made in China under the radar, starring the dissident artist Ai Weiwei in his actingdebut (playing a smuggler in a world without water); shot by Christopher Doyle (In the Mood forLove, Chungking Express, Hero); written and directed by Jason Wishnow (the filmmaker behindTED Talks).

Each time you help us hit a milestone, you unlock additional rewards and behind-the-scenesmaterials. And if you're just joining us

HELLO, PEOPLE OF KICKSTARTER!

My name is Jason and for the longest time I wanted to make my own films, so I left my job and myhome to fly from New York to a city Id never been to before, Beijing. I chose China for creative solitudebecause Im easily distracted and had heard the Internet would be blocked for me, perfect for writing.Next thing you know

IM FINISHING A MOVIE CALLED THE SAND STORM

Beijing felt like the future, not cool and sleek (thats Shanghai) but dim and gritty.

Back when I ran TEDs video department, a secret TED Talk was smuggled out of Chinadirectly tome. Thats partly why, early one morning, I was invited to meet:

AI WEIWEI HE HAS BEEN CALLED The Most Powerful Artist in the World andChinas Most Dangerous Man for his massive art installations (Beijings Birdsnest OlympicStadium of 2008) and his vocal political criticism (in 2011, the police kept him in captivity for 81 days,then held him under house arrest; he remains without a passport).

An hour into our first conversation (about the flow of information and the collateral damage ofuncertainty) he leaned in close and asked, What can we do together? I seized on an unexpectedopportunity to pitch a film. Ai Weiwei would play a smuggler in a world without water, as told throughthe lens of a personal, human drama. Already the subject of an Oscar-nominated documentary, thiswould mark his acting debut. He listened, confided he loved sci-fi, and asked how fast I could write thescreenplay. This was a real opportunity to create something truly meaningful. I now also needed totrack down:

CHRISTOPHER DOYLE THE STORY would be dark, but the movie could only lookbeautiful. The one cinematographer I wanted was the first I ever knew by name, a frequentcollaborator with Wong Kar-wai and Gus Van Sant, a man whose eye shaped the aesthetic of Asiancinema. We had never met. Though a contemporary of Ai Weiweis, they had never met either. Soon,both had copies of my script translated into Mandarin ().

Doyle and Ai agreed to the script the same day, but with the odds stacked against us: All of China wasabout to shut down for the holidays giving us two weeks exactly to find the rest of our cast and crew orwe would be forced into production limbo indefinitely. Given the subject and the star, our shoot mightnot be safe which meant anyone who didnt decline, instead demanded cash in advance. We had notime for fundraising. Finally, the weather fell below freezing and on a scale of 1-500 (smoggy days inLos Angeles register 60-90), pollution indexes hit a record 800. This was the climate in which weoperated.

WHY KICKSTARTER? WHY NOW? WHY $33,000?

We needed to keep the film a secret and didnt want anything sabotaged so we decided to postponecrowdfunding until AFTER we wrapped.

NOW WE NEED YOU because we still have hard costs related to visual effects, sound design, music,mix, color correction, subtitles, festival submission fees, and is your head spinning, too? Everycontribution counts.

WHAT IF WE EXCEED OUR KICKSTARTER GOAL?

THAT WOULD BE AMAZING!! If you fund this project beyond $33k, youll help pay off our remainingproduction expenses.

Our final, total cost will be around $90k (about 3x our Kickstarter goal yikes). We went at it alone,building sets, renting equipment, hiring a local cast and crew some payments were deferred, otherscovered by short-term loans.

Beyond that, you'll contribute to the early development of a feature film spanning the globe, of whichthis short will form an early chapter.

FINISHING THE SAND STORM

There wont be any WARS OVER WATER for at least a decade but this film can be ready in a matter ofweeks.

So many wonderful people have helped make the impossible possible. Incredibly talented industryprofessionals (not just in Beijing, but in London, Shanghai, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New York,with credits ranging from The Hobbit to Lost in Translation) are donating their time and resources,scrambling to finish the film so we can (hopefully!) premiere at a high profile festival and online.

WE RECORDED AN ORIGINAL SCORE with a 28-piece string orchestra at Londons landmarkAbbey Road, a studio kept historically and acoustically identical to when the Beatles last used it. Oneperformer (pictured) is playing the viola from Eleanor Rigby (sitting somewhere in the middle). Wellbe sharing more details in a future update.

ALL THIS FOR A TEN MINUTE FILM?

Yes.

REALLY?

Yes.

HOW WELL DO YOU KEEP YOUR SECRETS?

THIS WAS UNFAMILIAR TERRITORY. One of my first meetings with Ai Weiwei was interrupted byplainclothes police interrogators whisking him away.

We told no one what we were up to. The crew used code names and ever-shifting modes ofcommunication, tapping cloak-and-dagger pulp-fiction playbooks on loan from movies, novels, andlate-night television.

Ok. We told ALMOST no one. Because he instagrammed it:

TIME TO TELL EVERYONE

THE DAYS OF SECRETS ARE LONG OVER. We hope you will join in our adventure and SPREADTHE WORD as we wrap and release THE SAND STORM.

Please share this page on Twitter and and LIKE it on Facebook!

YOUR CONTRIBUTION MEANS SO MUCH

Aww thanks (in advance, even for reading this far), and at the risk of sounding like every otherKickstarter campaign, were giving away special gifts connected with the project, but were talkingSUPER ARTSY REWARDS custom action figures (!!!) access to behind-the-scenes footage stillframes and a few surprises.

OUR ULTIMATE GOAL IS TO ENTERTAIN

Even today, water shortages, poor air quality, and information obstruction exist around theworld. These complex issues provide the backdrop for an open-ended story, and our art house sci-fishort is the set-up for an eventual full-length feature film. But first, we need to finish the short.

Whatevers next, it's going to be awesome, especially if we go at it together.

Thank you!

Jason Wishnow and the entire Team

THE FIRST MILESTONE >> UNLOCKED!

1/3 of our $33k goal in 3 days. We did it in 29 hrs! All thanks to you!

YOU UNLOCKED A NEW REWARD (The Shadow Box!!!) ANNNND previously unseen footage of theMost Dangerous Barber in the World!

Guess who likes to cut hair?

You can help us reach Milestone: #2 ($33k and 1000 supporters) by liking, tweeting, and sharing thiscampaign.

THE SECOND MILESTONE >> UNLOCKED!

Thank you so much! And so: heres your Saturday morning cartoon! Bill McMullens study for theexclusive action figure inspired by the films mysterious Water Smuggler character.

$33k in 33 days seemed ambitious enough. Thanks to you, we hit it in 3 days (and 2 hrs). Incredible.

We realized we needed a STRETCH GOAL and were going to go for $50k but before we saidanything you blew past that on day 4 CRAZY! Right!???

Hence our NEW MILESTONE and FIRST STRETCH GOAL: The CRAZY-88k! You in??

(within 11 days of launch help us cover all costs, not just post! Please like, tweet, and share this newmilestone.)