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4 days ago
Alison Klayman
commented on a projectHi Jimmy! You did not miss the screening! It's happening right now. Please tune in to constellation with your RSVP.
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4 days ago
Alison Klayman
commented on a projectJimmy you didn't miss it! It's just starting now...log in with the ticket and password and email us directly if you have a problem asap: info@aiweiweifilm.org
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on April 26
Alison Klayman
Posted project update #15Exclusive Screening for Kickstarter Backers
For backers only
If you’re a backer of this project, please
log in
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on April 17
Alison Klayman
backed a project
High Tech, Low Life by High Tech, Low Life
"We can't let the news be one-sided." -Tiger Temple "You never know what you can do until you try." -Zola
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106% funded $25,060 pledged
- 417 backers
- Funded Apr 23, 2012
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on March 18
Alison Klayman
backed a project
Constructing A Photo Darkroom for Arts Center in France by Lucas Lai
Constructing a traditional analog photo darkroom/alternative photo process lab in Burgundy France, at La Porte Peinte arts center.
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100% funded $3,000 pledged
- 46 backers
- Funded Mar 23, 2012
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on February 5
Alison Klayman
commented on a project updateHi everyone, We've been messaging with some of you / seeing your comments, and worry that our update is being misunderstood. We want to clarify: Backers will absolutely be the FIRST of anyone to have a digital download when it's available. We will do everything in our power to offer it as soon as possible this year. We will also look into streaming possibilities, so if some of you want to see it before a download is available, maybe we can make a streaming option available earlier instead. Thanks for your enthusiasm to see the film! News about our distribution plans will be coming in the next few weeks.
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on February 4
Alison Klayman
Posted project update #14Sundance recap! On to Berlin!
Dear Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry supporters,
Happy Lunar New Year! 新年快乐! Fresh from our World Premiere screenings of Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival, the team is headed next to the Berlinale for the International Premiere!
At Sundance, the film screened to over 2,300 people in seven screenings and inspired many laughs, tears, two standing ovations, and a Special Jury Prize for Spirit of Defiance!
Kickstarters' Yancey Strickler used our film as a model during his Artist Services presentation at the festival. We proudly talk about our Kickstarter backers everywhere we go, and are so grateful for your support in taking on a project when it was still far away from the bright lights of Sundance.
We hope that those of you who have received your rewards are wearing/using them proudly. If your reward included a DVD or digital download, we will be making those fulfillments after the film has its theatrical/television run and comes out on DVD, which we believe will be end of year or early 2013. We promise we haven't forgotten and will keep you posted! Be sure to let us know if your address or any other details change.More recaps from Sundance!Alison snaps a photo of the crowd during her acceptance speech, when she asked everyone to stick up their middle finger in solidarity for Ai Weiwei's playful and indomitable stand for freedom of expression!
Upon seeing the photo, Weiwei wrote back immediately with his own photo and a text: "Hehe, joy."Later, Alison remarked: "To see that the overwhelming takeaway message for audiences was to be inspired to go speak out in their own life … that was the real reward."
- Carson Daly featured only six films from Sundance on his late-night show, Last Call with Carson Daly. We were thrilled to be included among them for his Spotlight on Sundance segment!
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Christiane Amanpour, NPR and Kenneth Turan, Wired, Epoch Times, Wall Street Journal, and the New York Times all gave the film their stamps of approval!
- David Poland of Movie City News conducted an in-depth interview with director Alison Klayman on DP/30. Watch it here!
- Christianity Today gave Never Sorry a glowing review, writing: "Film seems to be right mix of narrative, hype, & social angst to land itself an Oscar nomination next year."
- Our Outreach campaign drew attention from indieWIRE, who named our fortune cookies including Ai Weiwei's tweets, one of their "favorite examples of Sundance 2012 movie swag!" The NY Times blog also featured a photo of our life-size Ai Weiwei cut-out on Main Street, and OnEarth blog mentioned the film as having the Best Guerrilla Marketing.
- "Art-umentaries Rule!" Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry was also included as part of Sundance Film Festival's biggest trends by The Daily Beast.
None of this would have been possible without your support and dedication!
Love,
Never Sorry team
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Alek Shnayder on April 10
Wanting to give you the benefit of the doubt and not to belabor the point, but a reminder that we were to receive the digital download when the film was completed, which it has been for a significant amount of time. As stated above, despite being successfully funded last year, and screening the completed film since earlier of this year, we have failed to receive an update of the fulfillment of the promised reward . Thus, the criticism is that you may be failing to make a good faith and active attempt to fulfill the promised rewards, and thereby potentially in violation of the Kickstarter’s Terms of Service.
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David Hartung on April 26
This is ridiculous. The terms say "when it becomes available" not "when it becomes most commercially convenient for us to give you your digital download." This is not a for-profit theatrical release, but done to raise awareness.
You have disappointed me and I regret funding this project.
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Kellan on May 5
Very disappointing that we're be treating as customers instead of collaborators and the digital download is pushed off. Definitely doesn't feel honest or respectful.
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on January 3
Alison Klayman
commented on a projectHi Nancy C., Thanks for checking in and for your continued support. The film is making its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on Jan. 22nd. At the moment, digital downloads are not ready but you will be notified when they become available. Many thanks for your patience!
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on November 30
Alison Klayman
Posted project update #13Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry to premiere at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival!
爱未来! Love the future! The Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry team is proud to announce the film will make its World Premiere in January at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival! Just in time for Chinese New Year! We are indebted to all of our Kickstarter supporters for making this incredible three-year journey possible. As Weiwei has said, "If there is no freedom of speech, every single life has lived in vain." We hope this film will allow each person to find their own truth, to never retreat, and to strive for transparency. Our deepest thanks for your loyalty and support. Hope to see you in the mountains of Utah! Onward and upward! 加油!
To stay up-to-date on the film, please follow us on Twitter and Facebook!
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on November 15, 2011
Alison Klayman
Posted project update #12News from Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry: November 2011
Post CommentDear Kickstarter supporters,
Winter is upon us, and the latter half of 2011 has been a roller coaster ride for Ai Weiwei. Shortly after being named ArtReview magazine's most powerful person in the art world, he was served with a $2.4 million tax evasion charge by the Chinese government. Though fans and supporters contributed over half of the bill in solidarity, the government has rejected his claims for appeal. As the ongoing drama continues, Weiwei has said, "If a country resorts to silencing its people with sham laws, you win the battles, because you have power, but you’ve lost the war.” In an attempt to localize Weiwei's global cause and empower each person to keep his voice a loud part of the digital conversation, we have launched a Never Retreat. Retweet! campaign on Twitter and Facebook. We know his ability to freely express himself online is fragile, and never guaranteed, and so we encourage each and every one of you to get involved, be engaged, and speak out. Let us continue Ai Weiwei's example: @AWWNeverSorry. Never Retreat. Retweet!
Despite the uncertainty, Weiwei continues to be lauded in the art, human rights, and pop culture arena, recently awarded WSJ's Magazine's Art Innovator of the Year, the Bianca Jagger Award for Courage, and as one of GQ Magazine's Men of the Year in their upcoming December issue.
Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry is thisclose to completion and anticipating an early 2012 premiere. Thank you for your continued support and patience throughout this unpredictable journey!
More recent highlights:
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CNN recently spoke to director Alison Klayman about Weiwei’s fame in China, his mastery of the internet, and how since 2008, she has gone behind-the-scenes to tell a humanizing portrait of Ai Weiwei’s very public persona. “It’s really about how his life is his art. It’s about his activities, how he gives interviews very freely. He does not self-censor what he thinks.”
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Ai Weiwei made the cover of the November 21, 2011 edition of Newsweek Magazine. In it, he speaks out against his detention, being kept in isolation, and cut off from any interactions. “I really wished someone could beat me, because at least that’s human contact. Then you can see some anger. But to dismiss emotion, to be cut off from any reason, or anger, or fear, psychologically that’s very threatening.”
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On November 10, Twitter founder and Executive Chairman Jack Dorsey introduced a special presentation of Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry selects to the staff at Twitter’s headquarters in San Francisco. It was so surreal to be sharing an inside look at Weiwei’s use of their tool in China. Happy that Twitter staff was excited about the film, and about our “Never Retreat. Retweet!” campaign.
- How do you balance compelling storytelling with activism? On Thursday, Nov. 3, Alison Klayman joined a panel of acclaimed filmmakers to explore this and more as part of DOC NYC. Co-sponsored by Chicken & Egg, read their post-panel thoughts here!
- On October 19, Alison Klayman gave a special presentation on Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry at PopTech 2011: The World Rebalancing. In an interview on the Poptech blog, she shared the challenges of “acting in Weiwei’s shoes” and the evolution of the film’s narrative. “How do I convey to people who might not be familiar with the subtleties of how things work in China, what is subversive, what is dangerous? How do you show somebody at a computer and make it feel like — this is big, you know? Like he’s doing something intense.”
- Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry was one of eight films participating in The Good Pitch Europe on Oct. 25. It's a one-day live innovative forum where filmmakers pitch their films and outreach campaigns to experts from NGOs, foundations, brands and media.
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On stands now: In a bold new collaboration with W Magazine, Ai Weiwei remotely art directed a photo shoot in New York for the November art issue. The scenes spoke to his own confinement — a woman is captured, handcuffed and hooded by two menacing figures and taken to Rikers Island, where they watch her shower.
We continue to add oil (加油!) and look forward to keeping you posted on more updates about Weiwei and the film.
Never Retreat. Retweet!
Love,Never Sorry team
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Alison Klayman
New York, NY
Alison Klayman is a freelance journalist and documentary filmmaker. While living in China from 2006 to 2010, Klayman produced radio and television feature stories for NPR’s “All Things Considered”, AP Television, Voice of America, and “As it Happen... view more
So we still don't get a digital download of the film? :(
Any chance you could try to accommodate those of us who do not reside in the US by putting up a third screening evening CET?
when the dvd is ready will there PAL format available ?