Kickstarter

Dear Friends,

First of all, we’d like to apologize for taking so long to post an update about the film. A lot has happened over the last several months—both in our personal lives as well as in the life of the project. At long last we’d like to bring everyone up to speed. 

In early summer, we launched into production with high hopes of telling a story about US divers’ preparation for the London games. For the first few weeks, things seemed to be going well. The support from the diving community was overwhelming; the coaches and athletes we worked with were awesomely supportive and accommodating. Everything was proceeding as planned.

Then, after less than a month of production, we were confronted with a series of obstacles—some legal, some logistical—that prevented us from moving forward on our original vision. Setting out, we knew that making an Olympic-related film presented some significant challenges; as it turns out, these challenges were greater than we’d anticipated. Put simply, we were surprised to learn that certain powerful gatekeepers objected to the idea of our film being made. Despite unwavering support from the diving world, institutional forces exterior to the sport established a series of roadblocks that prevented us from moving forward with our production. 

Since then, we’ve been forced to re-think our ideas about the film. While of course we were disappointed that we were unable to execute our original concept, after months of planning and careful reflection we‘ve finally settled on what we think is a powerful new vision for the film—and right now, we’re feeling very positive about the direction things are headed. We’ve determined that the best way forward will be to expand the time frame of the film: rather than following subjects over the course of a few months, our story will unfold over the course of several years. We’ll still be working with some of the nation’s top competitive divers; and as ever, we’ll be dedicated to revealing the unique character of this remarkable, underappreciated sport. Obviously, this means that you all will have to wait longer to see the final product (and to receive of your incentives). Please know that we did not arrive at this decision casually; after all, as filmmakers, this means we’re taking on an even bigger commitment—we’ll be living with this responsibility for years to come. But at this point, we’re convinced that spending more time on production will result in a far superior film. 

We realize that this news will come as a disappointment to some of you. The success of the US diving team at this year’s games was nothing short of astonishing, and we’re still saddened that we weren’t able to capture the glory of their accomplishments. We can only hope that moving forward you all trust in our commitment to making the best film possible with the resources we have. We're as dedicated to the project as ever, and determined to follow through to the very end. Please don’t hesitate to be in touch if you have questions or concerns, and thank you all for your enduring support. 

Happy Thanksgiving, 

The Human Energy Team

All we can say is: WOW!! The diving community’s outpouring of support has been truly tremendous. After so many months of pre-production, we couldn’t be more thrilled that we can finally begin shooting the film. For our production team, today is the beginning of a long, exciting journey. Over this next year, we’ll be keeping you all posted as to the status of the production. And of course, we’ll also be in touch about getting you all your incentives when it comes time to delivering those.

We know that it takes a leap of trust to contribute to a project like this one, and this makes your support all the more meaningful. We promise to be prudent with the funds you all have entrusted to us, and whatever challenges we may face over the course of production, we’re committed to following through on our ultimate goal: to make a stirring, deeply felt film about the world of competitive diving.

Thank you for giving us this opportunity. We are: overwhelmed with gratitude. If you have questions or afterthoughts, feel free to contact us at any point. We’ll always be more than happy to hear from you.

OK everyone, this is hugely exciting. This morning we passed the $23,000 mark with just a few hours left in our campaign. We’re not there yet, but we’re tantalizingly close! A burst of small contributions from those who haven’t yet donated will put us over the top. Thanks again to all the 193 backers who have contributed thus far. We're deeply grateful for all your support.

Hey everyone. 7 days left to go! Thanks for all your support over the last few weeks. 

We wanted to address some confusion that some of our contributors have had about how Kickstarter works…Just to be clear: The project will only be funded if we reach our goal of 25,000 by May 31st.  This means that all of our contributors keep their money if we don’t reach our goal. It also means that if we don’t reach our goal, we can’t make the film. So if you haven’t donated yet, please contribute whatever you can. We still have a long way to go here in the final week. Thanks again to all those who have contributed so far. 

We need all the help we can get here in the final stretch! Thanks again to all who have contributed already.