Ready to give the world an inside look at the unaccredited teaching organization, Singularity University, a group of filmmakers have launched their own crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo for a new feature documentary, The University.
According the campaign’s description, The University tells the story of the students, the faculty, and how Singularity University teaches to confront the crucial issues that are affecting the future of the human race – while also creating startups to address these topics. The documentary will feature Stephen Hawking, Buzz Aldrin, Shimon Peres, Ashton Kutcher, Will.i.Am, Michio Kaku, and others.
Sharing some more details about the project, the team wrote, “We follow the students as they are given a fearsome challenge: create companies that will impact a billion people within ten years. It’s a brilliant challenge, pushing the students to create something bolder than just the next social networking app.”
In regards to why they have turned to crowdfunding, the team noted, “The film’s tagline is ‘The best way to teach the future is to invent it’ – and the hope is that by completing the film, hundreds of thousands of students who otherwise could not reap the rewards of Singularity University, will be inspired to become entrepreneurs and create companies that positively impact millions – or billions – of people.”
Director, Matt Rutherford, added, “Singularity University was founded in Silicon Valley by Peter Diamandis, the founder of the X Prize, and Ray Kurzweil, a famous inventor and futurist. They were supported by Google and NASA, and the university itself is based at NASA Ames, a highly eccentric research base in Mountain View, next door to Google. That combination of organizations and people was incredible, so I could tell that something interesting was going to happen here.”
“The main aim of the university is to teach grad and post grad students about exponentially growing technologies, and to harness these growth curves to create companies that impact a billion people within ten years. The whole thing sounds a bit insane, but that’s why I knew it would make a great film.”
It was also stated that whether its exponential medicine, artificial intelligence, space development, nanotechnology, synthetic biology, or robotics, Singularity University teaches students about the things that matter for our future, and this new film will inspire more students, entrepreneurs, and leaders to shape our future.
The University is directed by Matt Rutherford, the CEO and Founder of Roc Noir, a production company based between Nasa Ames and Los Angeles (www.rocnoir.com). The team includes Executive Producer Ondi Timoner, two-time winner of Sundance Film Festival (Dig, We Live In Public); and renowned soundtrack composer Philip Sheppard (The Tillman Story, In the Shadow of the Moon) . The film is sponsored by the International Documentary Association (www.documentary.org), and donations are tax deductible.
Funds from the campaign will go towards the final touches of the film, such as the editing, finishing, processes, licensing and distribution. As a thank you for the contributions, the project’s perks include:
- VIP party at Nasa Ames–meet the cast and Director where it was all filmed
- Night at the (member-only) Magic Castle in Hollywood with some of the cast and Director
- Become a Singularitarian–attend an Executive Program at SU
- Be an Associate Producer
- Dinner and Party in LA with cast members and Director
Since its launch on September 12th, the campaign has raised over $24,000. It is set to close on October 12th.
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