Arts documentary, first broadcast before Ai Weiwei's arrest by the Chinese authorities in April 2011, and his subsequent release after being detained for 11 weeks. Architect, photographer, curator and blogger, Ai Weiwei is China's most famous and politically outspoken contemporary artist. Alan Yentob explores the story of Ai Weiwei's life and art, and reveals how this most courageous and determined of artists continues to fight for artistic freedom of expression while living under the restrictive shadows of authoritarian rule.
Direction
Yentob's patient observation lets Ai Weiwei's quiet defiance speak loudest.
Production
Filmed pre-arrest — the eerie calm before the storm hits hard.
Director
Matthew Springford
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
This documentary became evidence: foreign journalists used Yentob's footage to demand answers during Ai's disappearance.
Ai designed Beijing's Bird's Nest stadium, then called for a boycott of the 2008 Olympics — the ultimate architectural betrayal.
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