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Ai Weiwei’s Fake Case, the Documentary


March 28, 2014 | Marina Galperina

The new documentary Ai Weiwei: The Fake Case documentary (directed by Andreas Johnsen) begins where Never Sorry left off.

It focuses on the questionable charges, constant surveillance, police harassment and further censorship that the rebellious artist faced after being kidnapped and imprisoned by government goons.

After 81 days of solitary detention world famous Chinese artist Ai Weiwei is put under house arrest. He suffers from sleeping disorder and memory loss, 18 cameras are monitoring his studio and home, police agents follow his every move, and heavy restrictions from the Kafkaesque Chinese authorities weigh him down. Journalists, the art world and his family all want a piece of him and on top of that he is hit with a gigantic lawsuit from the Chinese government, which he soon names ‘The Fake Case’. Ai Weiwei is shaken, but during the year on probation he steadily finds new ways to provoke and challenge the mighty powers of the Chinese authorities in his fight for human rights. Ai Weiwei strongly believes that China is ready for change. And he will do everything to make it happen.

Ai Weiwei: The Fake Case premieres at the IFC Center on May 16th.