How US director’s film was nearly derailed by a storm with Ai Weiwei

In early April, things seemed to be on a roll for director Jason Wishnow. The 40-year-old's yet-to-be released short film The Sandstorm was already receiving international attention, thanks largely to the participation of mainland artist and activist Ai Weiwei, who had agreed to play a cameo role in this dystopian science fiction film about a water shortage. All there was left to do was for the filmmaker to find enough money to complete the non-commercial project.

Like many in the US film industry today, Wishnow turned to crowdfunding for support. Actor Don Cheadle, for instance, was reported to have used his celebrity, together with collaborator Ewan McGregor's star power, to raise enough cash from crowdfunding site Indiegogo to make up the shortfall in their budget for a movie about jazz great Miles Davis. Before that, Spike Lee, Zach Braff and Kristen Bell all used Kickstarter campaigns to help finance films.

With Ai attached to his film, Wishnow generated enough interest on Kickstarter - a crowdfunding site set up in 2009 specifically for creative projects - to raise the money he needed. But what helped him get his project off the ground also threatened to derail it.

On April 23, Ai issued a letter saying he never agreed to be promoted as the star of The Sandstorm and that he never gave the director consent to use his image or name to promote the film. The artist claimed that he only agreed to play a minor role in the 10-minute film.

Watch: Kickstarter video of Ai Weiwei's film The Sandstorm