Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry

2012 Documentary of the Chinese dissident was premiered at Sundance this week.

Utah is getting a lot of love from the film world this week, and one piece that caught our attention tells of the struggle of Beijing artist Ai Weiwei, who last year was detained for 81 days by the government due to his belief in (and actions of) freely expressing himself.

Ai’s story is depicted as a bold and brash artist who became somewhat cautious after his detention period in 2011. Understandably so, from some of the footage and reports unearthed; the dark edginess to the film is not just for dramatic effect, it is genuine uneasiness that manages to creep into the viewer from the shady goings on. The documentary also chronicles several years leading up to his arrest, from his childhood in Beijing, to his blossoming years in New York, to his high profile work and his growing politically-charged comments and works.

Director Alison Klayman, who lived in China from 2006 to 2010 working as a freelance journalist, says she made Never Sorry wanting to “record what happens when someone makes the choice to speak openly and provocatively and face down the consequences”, and that is exactly what Ai Weiwei has done. Crossing the line from popular artist into social activist sees him shy away from post-detention interviews, and choose his appearances wisely (Ai did not attend the premiere screening at Sundance).

Although you’re going to have to wait a little while to see the film in full, you can check out the teaser preview below.

Director / Producer & Cinematographer: Alison Klayman
Executive Producers: Julie Goldman, Andrew Cohen, Karl Katz
Contributing Producer: Colin Jones
Producer: Adam Schlesinger
Editor: Jen Fineran
Music: Illan Isakov

This video was produced by independent filmmakers supported in part by the nonprofit Sundance Institute.

For more information, head to aiweiweineversorry.com/

by Lee Jarvis.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to our RSS feed

Tags: 2012, Ai Weiwei, Alison Klayman, documentary, feature, film, Never Sorry, sundance