Kickstart My Art: THE SEARCH FOR WENG WENG

What is Kickstarter?

Got too much money and not sure what to do with it? Don't you just hate that? Well then maybe you should stop being such a selfish bastard and use some of it to help somebody else realize their dream while getting some sweet rewards in return. THE SEARCH FOR WENG WENG is a feature documentary from Aussie filmmaker Andrew Leavold exploring the history of Filipino B-films and uncovering the facts behind the 2'9" Filipino phenomenon known as Weng Weng. I'll let the Kickstarter campaign explain in its own words -

"The Search For Weng Weng" is the unbelievable true story of the real-life 2'9" Filipino James Bond and the latest Feature Documentary from Australian Guerrilla Film maker Andrew Leavold. Shot over 6 years in Manila, it's the ultimate history of Philipino B-Films and chronicles Leavold's obsessive quest to find the truth behind what really happened Weng Weng. We already have over 100 hours of footage, a distributor in place and are looking to raise funds to complete post production for an international release"

"I wanted to know Weng’s story. His real name, for starters. Was he still alive? How many movies did he make? Other than unbelievably small, what kind of person was he? He’s listed in the Guinness Book of Records as, at just 83 cm (2 ft 9 in) tall, the shortest ever lead actor in a motion picture. That’s as far as the official story went - it seemed like the Cone of Silence has well and truly fallen over Weng. I remember ringing the Manila Film Resource Centre in the mid 90s, and they pretended to have never heard of him. Was he truly a national disgrace? Had political correctness finally caught up with a country whose comedy venerates freaks, fatties and the less-fortunate? Or was he small enough to have slipped between the cracks of film history"

So if unraveling the facts around this Filipino midget sounds right down you're alley, make sure you head on over to the official Kickstarter campaign page to make a donation and choose you're reward. And while you're at it check out the official Facebook page and don't forget to share it with all of your friends.