A dissident artist films his own prosecution — the state hates it, you'll love it.
Ai Weiwei’s Appeal ¥15,220,910.50 opens with Ai Weiwei’s mother at the Venice Biennial in the summer of 2013 examining Ai’s large S.A.C.R.E.D. installation portraying his 81 day imprisonment. The documentary goes onto chronologically reconstruct the events that occurred from the time he was arrested at the Beijing airport in April 2011 to his final court appeal in September 2012. The film portrays the day-to-day activity surrounding Ai Weiwei, his family and his associates ranging from consistent visits by the authorities, interviews with reporters, support and donations from fans, and court dates. The Film premiered at the International Film Festival Rotterdam on January 23, 2014.
Direction
Weiwei turns his own persecution into performance art — literally.
Production
Shot under constant government surveillance, which becomes part of the text.
Writing
The title itself is a legal document — petty, precise, perfect.
Director
Ai Weiwei
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
The ¥15,220,910.50 figure represents the exact 'tax evasion' fine Weiwei was fighting — down to the decimal, because precision mocks power.
Weiwei filmed this while still under house arrest and travel ban; the Rotterdam premiere marked his first 'attended' festival via livestream, which he technically wasn't allowed to do.
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