Chinese dissident artist Ai Weiwei (艾未未) says he was misled in lending his name and image to an independent science-fiction film that sought to raise funds on the Kickstarter Web site.
In a letter to director Jason Wishnow, Ai said he did not approve of the way in which he was being used to promote The Sandstorm.
The film-in-progress has been described as a dystopian tale of a future China in which water has become scarce, with Ai playing a smuggler who evades authorities.
Ai said in the letter that he did not give consent for Wishnow to use his name and image to promote the film and that he agreed only to take a minor role in the project, but was now being advertised as the film’s star.
“Ai Weiwei considers that you have not only misled him in this regard, but are also potentially deceiving providers of funds to your project as to the extent of Ai Weiwei’s involvement in the project, potentially implicating Ai Weiwei in your deception without his knowledge or consent,” said the letter, sent on Ai’s behalf on Wednesday last week.
The letter called on Wishnow to direct Kickstarter to cancel and remove the advertised project, a demand he apparently agreed to.
The Web site currently carries a notice saying the film was the subject of an intellectual property dispute and presently unavailable.
Ai representative Darryl Leung said in an e-mail yesterday that the letter was authentic, and that no response had yet been received from Wishnow.
“We don’t know what the final resolution will be and we don’t know whether the film will be shown,” Leung wrote.
New York-based Wishnow did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.
In an April 9 interview, Hong Kong-based cinematographer Christopher Doyle said the film had been shot over a few days in locations all across Beijing. He said the shoot was conducted in semi-clandestine fashion, describing it as a “very minimalistic simple shooting process.”
Footage for the film appears to have been shot without permits or official authorization.
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