Ai Weiwei | IFFR

AI Weiwei (1957, China) is a conceptual artist, political activist, philosopher, architect, photographer and filmmaker. Influenced by Marcel Duchamp’s Dadaism, Ai became known for his continuing criticism of social and cultural changes in China. He makes intensive use of the Internet and Twitter when condemning the human rights situation, economic exploitation and environmental pollution. The designer of China’s Olympic stadium was named the world’s most influential artist by the magazine Art Review in November 2011. After spending ten years living in New York, Ai returned to China in 1993 where he was arrested in 2011; officially for tax avoidance, unofficially due to his criticism of the Chinese government.

Filmography

(selection, all doc) Beijing 2003 (2003), Chang’an Boulevard (2004), Beijing: The Second Ring (2005), Beijing: The Third Ring (2005), Tong hua/Fairytale (2008), Feng Zheng Hu hui jia/Feng Zhenghu Returns Home (2009), Lao ma ti hua/Stewed Pork a.k.a. Stewed Pork (2009), Hua lian ba er/Dirty Faces (2009), Hua er wei shen me zhe yang hong/Why Are the Flowers So Red (2010), Wei hai guo jia an quan/A Threat to Homeland Security (2010), Sun Ya (2010), Liu nian bu li/Unlucky in Liu’s Year (2010), Xi Mei (2010), Jing cha da ren le/The Police Hit People (2010), Shi shi jiu shi zhe yang/This Is What Happened (2010), One Recluse (2010), Yi ge gu pi de ren/A Lonely Man (2010) San hua/Three Flowers (2010), Hua hao yue yuan/Blissful Harmony (2010), Mei hao sheng huo/A Beautiful Life (2010), So Sorry (2012), Ordos 100 (2012), Ping'an Yueqing (2013, doc), Ai Weiwei's Appeal ¥15,220,910.50 (2014)