“Claire taught us to not run from the terrifying parts of life and to live a life that you are proud of ” said Co-Director Nick Reed. The objective of the film is to share with the world Claire Wineland’s mission and her unique message.
Directed by Oscar Award-winning filmmaker Nick Reed and Ryan Azevedo and Produced by Paul Foley, the documentary CLAIRE tells the story of Claire’s Place Foundation Founder Claire Wineland through interviews and footage illustrating how she has inspired millions to find purpose and to live proudly.
CLAIRE spotlights the incredible journey of a young girl facing unimaginable circumstances and how she inspires millions to find their purpose. A successful life is about creating a winning mindset, this film shows you how to do the same! Clarie was born with Cystic Fibrosis. At 21 years old Claire had over 35 surgeries and spent thousands of hours in the hospital, but as the film illustrates that is not what defines her. Instead, the film features Claire’s humanity and wisdom that was beyond her years and her undying passion for living a life to be proud of. The objective is to inspire viewers to step back and look at their own mindset. From the beautiful and humorous to the painful parts of life, how do you embrace them?
Claire Wineland lived a life she could be proud of... will you?
THE RIGHT TEAM: Claire Wineland turned down many filmmakers before accepting the opportunity with Oscar Award-winning directors Nick Reed and Ryan Azevedo. The difference was they were willing to make it the way Claire wanted.
UNIQUE RELEASE: The film became part of YouTube’s initial sojourn into content creation. YouTube Originals acquired and distributed the documentary, releasing the film globally in September of 2019.
POWERFUL PERSONA: “I have a question for you guys,” Claire begins, over the steady percussion of her ever-present nebulizer. Her voice, usually low and raspy, is high-pitched, curious, and even a little insecure. It is one of the few moments of the next 39 minutes where she sounds like what she was-- a 20 year old girl.
CLAIRE is about this brilliant young woman with a comfortable relationship with death, it is difficult and even scary for her to embrace a life outside its shadow. For her, staying sick was the “safe” choice-- a sentiment she knew not many could relate to, though everyone can relate to her because we all know what it’s like to “play it safe.”
THE ULTIMATE CHALLENGE: The leading lady dies before filming is complete. Although the filming was met with Claire’s unexpected passing, the entire film team, Claire’s family and foundation came together to ensure the film was completed and seen globally to carry on Claire’s work and legacy. The film was released on the one-year anniversary of her death.
HER BODY OF WORK: Thankfully, Claire Wineland was an extremely prolific YouTube star with over 430k subscribers, and millions of video views. Her self generated powerful content inspired the film and inspired the film in her absence. The film opens with Claire querying the documentary filmmakers: “What was it about...when you first interviewed me...that made you want to do a whole thing on me?” To anyone familiar with Claire’s YouTube channel, the answer is already evident. Claire was the teenage girl who changed the world from her hospital bed.
HER LASTING IMPACT: Live proudly. Claire’s whimsical manner, contrasted with her terminal illness, made her and makes the documentary, as the viewers’ comments attest: “inspirational,” “life-changing,” “life-affirming,” and “powerful.”
EXPECTATIONS:
We faced a number of significant challenges with the release of our film ‘Claire.’ Our biggest challenge was the length of our documentary. Most viewers quit viewing videos on YouTube after 3-4 minutes. Our documentary ‘Claire’ had a total runtime of just over 39 minutes minutes.
Another challenge that we faced was that Claire Wineland’s YouTube channel had been inactive for over a year. It would have been considered a huge success if we could reach 1/3 of the channel’s 235k subscribers considering the average video in our category gets around 9,000 views over the first year.
RESULTS SINCE THE FILM’S RELEASE IN SEPTEMBER 2019:
IMPRESSIONS- 25.5 MILLION overall impressions across Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube (Claire-owned channels)
VIEWS- 6 MILLION overall views across Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube (Claire-owned channels)
HOURS - 201 THOUSAND hours of watch time across all channels (12 million minutes)
ENGAGEMENT- 167 THOUSAND total engagements across all channels (likes, reactions, comments, shares).
SUBSCRIBERS- 434 THOUSAND Subscribers. In just 4 short months, Claire’s YouTube channel subscribers nearly doubled from 235K to 434K.
CHARITABLE REACH - Additionally, we can look at the incredible amount of donations that the film has funneled to the Claire's Place Foundation to keep Claire's legacy alive and to assist families in need living with Cystic Fibrosis.
$95,877.26 have been raised as a result of the film. This amount has enabled Claire’s Place Foundation to assist 90 families with grants to support their mortgage/rent, medical bills, and other living expenses.
