I'm Weiwei: Activism, Free Expression, Human Rights

11/2/14 to 12/11/14

A series in solidarity, I'm Weiwei addresses many of the issues that confront the great Chinese artist Ai Weiwei-basic human rights, free expression, incarceration, abuses of state power. Innovative documentaries offer portraits of men and women who have found themselves actively engaged, whether in response to unexpected circumstance or as a result of a calculated allegiance to a cause. Includes Ai's newest film, Ai Weiwei's Appeal ¥15,220,910.50, and special guests in person at most screenings.

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  • Upcoming
    Films
  • Upcoming
    Events
  • Selected
    Objects
  • Past
    Films
  • Past
    Events

Past Films

  • Budrus

    • Thursday, December 11 7pm

    Julia Bacha (Israel/Occupied Palestinian Territories, 2009). With special guest Mujahid Sarsur. When a group of Palestinian villagers stands in front of bulldozers to save their olive trees from destruction, their actions initiate a new movement that unites Israelis and Palestinians in a nonviolent struggle in this up-close and inspiring documentary chronicle. (82 mins)

  • Fatal Assistance

    • Sunday, December 7 6:45pm

    Raoul Peck (France/Haiti/US/Belgium, 2013). Filmed over two years, Raoul Peck's powerful exposé examines the staggering failures, global and local, that have stranded a vulnerable nation in the wake of Haiti's devastating 2010 earthquake. (100 mins)

  • High Tech, Low Life

    • Thursday, December 4 7pm

    Stephen T. Maing (China/US, 2012). With special guest Monica Lam. High Tech, Low Life follows two of China's first “citizen reporters” as they roam the country reporting on social and economic debacles that have been suppressed by official outlets. (87 mins)

  • Ai Weiwei's Appeal ¥ 15,220,910.50

    • Wednesday, December 3 7pm

    Ai Weiwei (China, 2014). With special guest Cheryl Haines. Made by Ai and his studio confederates, Appeal ¥15,220,910.50 meticulously documents Ai's arrest at the Beijing Airport, eighty-one-day incarceration, and subsequent Kafkaesque tangling with the Taxation Bureau. (128 mins)

  • The Agronomist

    • Sunday, November 23 6:30pm

    Jonathan Demme (US/Haiti, 2003). Jonathan Demme (Stop Making Sense, The Silence of the Lambs) documents the turbulent history of Radio Haiti, the first independent station in that nation's history, as instigated by its main broadcaster, the flamboyant Jean Léopold Dominique. (90 mins)

  • Trudell

    • Sunday, November 16 5:30pm

    Heather Rae (US, 2005). The life and times of the Native American activist and spoken-word performer John Trudell are spotlighted in this inspiring documentary from Heather Rae. Includes interviews with Robert Redford, Jackson Browne, Kris Kristofferson, and others. (80 mins)

  • Strange Culture

    • Sunday, November 2 6pm

    Lynn Hershman Leeson (U.S., 2007). Lynn Hershman Leeson in person. Telling the strange tale of artist and alleged “bioterrorist” Steve Kurtz, Lynn Hershman Leeson deconstructs both documentary conventions and post-9/11 paranoia. (76 mins)