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on March 4
Ben Nabors & Tom Rielly
backed a project
The Audacity of Louis Ortiz by Ryan Murdock
What if one day you looked in the mirror and saw the most powerful man on earth? Would you have the audacity to make the most of it?
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108% funded $27,013 pledged
- 751 backers
- Funded Mar 14, 2012
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on January 8
Ben Nabors & Tom Rielly
Posted project update #17Thank you! You have made it happen! 376 people gave $111,545
Post CommentDear Backers,
A little bleary eyed here in Moving Windmills HQ (ok, my home office. : ) 40 days of support from hundreds of donors and well-wishers have resulted in a successful campaign. Because of you we can edit the film (and even faster than we planned). We'll be able to grow our production team with an associate producer and intern to help the editors and director. We'll be able to clock far more person-hours on the project. And we hope that you will be proud of the result. You are friends, family, colleagues, folks we didn't know before the project, anonymous donors, even a top Hollywood film director. Thank you to each and everyone of you. I'm just kind of stunned and Ben is too, as is Michael our CPA, Nathan our intern, and everyone who helped us.
When we started our Kickstarter project to bring the story of William Kamkwamba to life via film, we had no ideal how much hard work, fun, and ultimately emotion we would experience. We had no way to know that your generosity would result in 286% of our original goal. We recognize you, we give you credit, we extend our gratitude to you and we shower you with appreciation! In other words, Thank You!
Love, Tom and Ben
P.S. We'll be in touch. Should you have any questions, you can reach Ben and Me at info@movingwindmills.org, or [firstname]@
P.P.S. Off to bed!
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on January 8Funded!
Moving Windmills - Documentary Film by Ben Nabors & Tom Rielly
Moving Windmills is a feature-length documentary that tells the true story of William Kamkwamba, a young innovator from Malawi, Africa.
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278% funded $111,545 pledged
- 376 backers
- Funded Jan 08, 2012
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on January 7
Ben Nabors & Tom Rielly
Posted project update #16You did it! YOU did it! We have crossed $110,000 ($110,334) with 9 hrs to go!
Post CommentDear all 358 backers who've come with Ben, William and me on this adventure of 40 days and 40 nights. You have done it! You just crossed $110,000 which means the film will net $100,000 (at least). There are still 9 hours to go and donations have been coming in steadily so I can't predict the final number. Each of them is sweet frosting on your amazing documentary cake. Working with you and your commitments has been fun, exciting and comes with an awesome responsibility. We promised to get back to the editing room and to use your money frugally.
When William was building his windmill, everyone said he was crazy, that he would never succeed, and that his mother should be worried about him. But, in his exact words from nearly 5 years ago, "I try and I made it." We didn't know if we could do this Kickstarter project, but I think just a little bit of William rubbed off on us.
Merci, Danke, Arigato, Gracias, Gratzie, Thank you!
Love, Tom and Ben
This photo is of William preparing nsima, Malawi's national staple dish. It's made of hot cornmeal rolled into balls. The consistency is like firmer Cream of Wheat. Nsima is served with "relishes:" mustard greens, tomatoes, and if available a little chicken or goat meat. It's delicious.
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on January 7
Ben Nabors & Tom Rielly
Posted project update #15Why are we doing this? Reflections at the end of our campaign
Post CommentAs we head down the home stretch, I think it's important to focus on what is our goal. Four and a half years ago I had the privilege to meet an extraordinary 19-year old, possessed of a strength and courage I had rarely encountered. He was so self-effacing I didn't know for another year all the hardships he had endured besides not being able to go to high school.
Since then he's attended a year of missionary high school in Malawi, then two years of prep school in South African and now he's in his second year at Dartmouth College. But he's also improved the lives of nearly everyone in his village with his projects, while building a business for his family and sending his sisters and relatives and friends to private schools.
Yes, he's been on Good Morning America with Diane Sawyer. Yes, he made Jon Stewart laugh on the air. He's been subject of numerous articles and TV segments and traveled all over the world sharing his story. How has he changed? Has he become haughty and conceited? Not at all. He is still the same boy I met albeit grown into a fine young man. Letting him share his story, which he hopes may inspire other young people to believe in themselves, is why we are spending five years on this project.
Tote board: $107,958. Needed: $2042 to reach $110K gross/$100 net. Nearly done.
Below: one of the two extant photos of WK before we met.
Love to all of you, Tom and Ben
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on January 7
Ben Nabors & Tom Rielly
Posted project update #14Update and William K's triumphant TEDGlobal 2009 Talk
Post CommentDear Backers,
I hope you are having a wonderful Saturday. We are pretty much glued to the computer communicating about the closing hours of the campaign. Speaking of which, the tote board says $106,258, leaving only $3642 to declare absolute victory: $110,000 nets us $100K or a bit more after paying Amazon and Kickstarter their cuts (which are fair). You know how to help.....! : )
Now onto the main attraction: Almost exactly two years later William came back to speak at TEDGlobal in Oxford in 2009. He gave a follow-up talk on the main stage. I knew he was nervous but much less than last time. He left the party the night before early and went back to his Oxford dorm room where he stayed and rehearsed over and over again....the result was a standing ovation and many tears: (thoughts? in the comments)
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on January 7
Ben Nabors & Tom Rielly
Posted project update #13Sat. 21 Hours to Go: Watch WK's original talk at TED Africa
Post CommentDear Backers,
I hope you slept well! Quick headlines: 21 hours to go, $103,615, pledges just starting as people wake up, trying to reach $110K so we net $100K after Amazon and Kickstarter fees. By now you know the drill: 1. Increase your pledge, or 2. Get a friend to pledge, or 3. Tweet about the project (be sure to include the hours left) or 3. Facebook (same), or email your friends (same.) We're hoping for an exciting finish!
Now, about this video. William was 19 when my colleague Emeka Okafor invited him to TED Global 2007 (known now as TED Africa). He'd never had a new pair of shoes, or shirt or pants, but his malawian well wishers bought him one of each. He'd never been on a plane, or stayed in a hotel, or had any reason to practice his grade school English for five years. Still, when I met him, he was standing in the corner like a wallflower. Within 10 minutes of talking to him with his halting English, I had a Eureka feeling that "this kid's got a chance." So I convinced TED's boss Chris to put him onstage. WK hates this video, because he was so nervous that he misunderstood one of the questions and his English is rusty at best. Later today I'll show you William at TED two years later and you won't believe it.
http://www.ted.com/talks/william_kamkwamba_on_building_a_windmill.html
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on January 7
Ben Nabors & Tom Rielly
Posted project update #12Bedtime update and watch the short film that started it all!
Post CommentGood evening backers!
1. Pledge Update 2. The Moving Windmills Short that started it all.
1. It's 1 am on the East Coast of the U.S. and we're getting sleepy. Before I go to bed, the tote board: 31 hours left and we're at $103,345! It's absolutely amazing and it's because of YOU. We've had pledges from $1 to $1000 SINCE we crossed the $100K threshold. We've decided that $100K is amazing, but we forgot for a moment that Kickstarter and Amazon Payments both get a cut, which is totally fair and we're happy to pay it. But, if we get to $110K, we'll net an even $100K, instead of $90K from $100K. So we have just $6,655 to reach our final, yes, now seriously, no I'm not kidding final goal. (I promised not to move the goal posts again!) I have heard rumors from other filmmakers that a lot of people (brand new and familiar) jump in in the few hours, so there is no telling where we'll end up. I invite you to guess in the comments.
2. Watch our short film from four years ago when WK's English was not so good, we hadn't sent a crew to Malawi yet, and we had massive time pressures to finish it to submit it to the Pangea Day Film Festival. There was one winner for each continent and we won for North America.
True story: I promise you we had NO IDEA. I was actually photographing the award ceremony on behalf of Pangea Day. I thought we had no chance as we were up against very polished fiction shorts. While they were reading the North American winner, behind the camera I silently mouthed the words "Moving Windmills" and to our absolute shock those words came out of the mouth of one of the judges as if I were a ventriloquist. Our team FREAKED OUT. The ceremony was by a hotel pool, and I remember all of us gathering in the shimmering blue light to say to each other "now we have to make the feature!"
Here is the short. Virtually none of this footage will appear in the feature length documentary, and the production values in the big doc are way higher. Still we are really proud of this short. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arD374MFk4w
Tom (awake) and Ben (also still awake) : )
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on January 7
Ben Nabors & Tom Rielly
commented on a project updateI mean $103,345 so far! 31 Hours to go.
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on January 7
Ben Nabors & Tom Rielly
commented on a project updateWe are hoping for $110,000 because that will net us $100,000 after Kickstarter's and Amazon's fees. I think we can do it. $103,345.
Ben Nabors & Tom Rielly
New York, NY
Ben Nabors (director/producer) is a Brooklyn-based non-fiction filmmaker and founder of the studio {group theory}. Learn more about his work at the following link: www.group-theory.net Tom Rielly (exec. producer) is a tech entrepreneur and humorist who has produced two other docs. During the day he works at TED Conferences.
