Record-breaking crowdfunding campaign from Singapore: USD 27K raised

Singapore filmmaker Kenny Gee has raised what is possibly the most money out of any crowdfunding campaigns from the country, smashing his own target of USD 20K for his short film The Body, a crime thriller involving two crooks and a dead body.

With 18 days still left on his Indiegogo effort, Kenny already has USD 27,296, and I won’t be surprised if he goes well beyond the 30K mark.

One reason why his campaign is succeeding must surely be because of his well-concocted fundraising video, which depicts Kenny being held at ransom by two crooks. Forced to cough up cash in the face of torture, he suggests desperately that he can get the money — through Indiegogo.

The short clip is hilarious and gripping, setting a high bar for what crowdfunding videos should be like. It’s certainly one of the best ones I’ve seen, ever.

HELP KENNY GEE NOW from Kenny Gee on Vimeo.

Indiegogo has become Singapore’s favorite crowdfunding platform. Last year, we covered how indie cafe The Pigeonhole had also raised money on the website in order to prevent itself from shutting down due to high rentals.

Other fundraisers have included singer-songwriter Inch Chua, who raised USD 15K, and tech startup Innova Technology, which received USD 10K to create a loss-prevention device.

What does this mean for domestic crowdfunding platforms like Togather.Asia and Crowdonomic?

On one hand, it provides a glimmer of hope that crowdfunding is gaining mindshare in Asia and that there is enough local talent with marketing savvy. While the region’s film industry isn’t quite at the level of the United States, there is certainly room for much growth.

On the other hand, it proves that local platforms have a lot of work to do. Unlike Indiegogo, they can’t provide local fundraisers access to a wide user base in the United States, which makes the task of attracting fundraisers tougher.

Perhaps featuring highly localized projects with strong domestic appeal might be the ticket.