In a scene of startling beauty in ai weiweis human flow, a group of refugees huddles together, with light bouncing off golden insulation blankets handed out by workers to warm them up as they arrive off a boat in europe. Artist, activist and director ai weiwei captures the global refugee crisis the greatest human displacement since world war ii in this breathtakingly epic film journey human flow. Human flow is a 2017 german documentary film coproduced and directed by ai weiwei about the current global refugee crisis. Though donald trump is never mentioned by name in all 140 minutes of ai weiweis new documentary, human flow, the picture is, quite simply, the most monumental cinematic middle finger aimed at his scandalladen administration to date. And now, with human flow, he again stretches arts definition to include trying to change the social fabric to which his work responds. In one of the first scenes, ai approaches muhammed hassan, a syrian man who has just. The film is made with deep beliefs in the value of human rights. Captured over the course of an eventful year in 23 countries, the film follows a chain of urgent human stories that stretches across the globecontainer. Human flow, in which chinese artist and filmmaker ai weiwei documents ongoing refugee crises around the world, is designed to be. Human flow is a remarkable film, vast in scope, but pondering the nature of humanity in a world of vast movement and change. For his grandiose film about the worldwide refugee crisis, human flow, one of directorartist ai weiweis most lasting images is an overhead shot of thousands of discarded lifejackets. Human flow is director and artist, ai weiweis detailed and heartbreaking exploration into the global refugee crisis. Ai weiweis film human flow documents the staggering scale of.
Human flow, the first featurelength documentary by famed artist ai weiwei, is best when it makes portraits. On sunday, april 29, uva joins hundreds of universities and organizations around the country for a simultaneous screening of human flow, internationally renowned artist ai weiweis documentary on the global refugee crisis. Human flow offers stateliness and tempo as correctives in depicting hardly fathomable, inexorable catastrophe. Captured over the course of a year in 23 countries, the film follows a chain of urgent stories that stretches through afghanistan, greece, iraq, kenya, mexico, turkey and beyond. Pg over 65 million people around the world have been forced from their homes to escape famine, climate change and war in the greatest human displacement since world war ii. Over 65 million people around the world have been forced from their homes to escape famine, climate change and war in the greatest human displacement since world war ii. In its galvanizing account of the global refugee crisis, this film is a scalding rebuke to trumps. Human rights law society vincent gambini society join the human rights law society and the vincent gambini society for a screening of human flow in room iii. Over the course of a year visiting two dozen countries, wei wei empathetically captures urgent human stories and the sobering scale of the tragedy before us. In the film the viewer is taken to over 20 countries to understand both the scale and the personal impact of this massive human migration. A film guide that looks at human flow 2017, exploring its key topics and themes through informal. Human flow distributed by amazon studios, is now playing in theatres in select cities click here for tickets and showtimes.
The documentary elucidates both the staggering scale of the refugee. Ais new film, human flow, while certainly epic in scope, is not exactly meant as entertainment. Human flow official trailer amazon studios youtube. The documentary elucidates both the staggering scale of the refugee crisis.
Human flow more than 65 million people around the world have been forced from their homes to escape famine, climate change and war. Human flow, in which chinese artist and filmmaker ai weiwei documents ongoing refugee crises around the world, is designed to be experienced on a big screen. Human flow is a personal journey, an attempt to understand the conditions of humanity in our day. Theres something conservative, even artless, about the way his film moves from story to story, leans. As a human being, i believe any crisis or hardship that happens to another human being should be as if it is happening to us, ai says. Over 65 million people around the world have been forced from their homes to escape famine, climate. Artist, activist and director ai weiwei captures the global refugee crisisthe greatest human displacement since world war iiin this breathtakingly epic film journey human flow. Human flow offers a searing look at the global refugee. Amazons human flow is a 360 view of the global refugee. A groundbreaking new documentary about the global refugee. Ais work is often meant to provoke, but the shot isnt meant to plunder suffering for arts sake. This is a thoughtprovoking visual document of large scale human migration, a global issue affecting tens of millions that has not been seen on the same volume since the displacement of people during world war ii.
A conversation with ai weiwei and leoluca orlando mayor of palermo, moderated by catherine vuylsteke. Human flow documentary screening university of chicago. Directed by internationally renowned artist ai weiwei, human flow is a sprawling and heartbreaking exploration of the global refugee crisis. The human flow film screening and discussion facebook twitter mail over 65 million people around the world have been forced from their homes to escape famine, climate change and war in the greatest human displacement since world war ii. Anyone expecting an artists film in style and ideas might be surprised. Yet given one of the films grimmer statistics the average time migrants spend in camps, we are told, is a shocking 26 years human flow leaves us. A vivid look at a human crisis thats changing the face of our planet. To create his new documentary film human flow, chinese artist and activist ai weiwei spent a full year traveling through 23 countries, following. The films titular motif of humanity fleeing from wartorn countries.
Human flow, in which chinese artist and filmmaker ai weiwei documents ongoing refugee crises around the world, is designed to be experienced on a. Human flow is rooted in specific current national and political situations, yet it offers a portrait of forced human movement and suffering that feels almost timeless. Human flow comes at a crucial time when tolerance, compassion and trust are needed more than ever. Rentals include 30 days to start watching this video and 30 days to finish once started. Preceding this moment, weiwei has shown hundreds of immigrants trying to come to a new land by boat, and shown the potential loss that can occur from such daring. The image that sticks in the mind from human flow, the long, engrossing, visually stunning documentary on world migration directed by. Ais ambition in human flow is as expansive as his reach and his apparently deeppocketed resources. Human flow was screened in the main competition section. On sunday, october 8th, new america nyc presented a screening of human flow, a sweeping new film by worldrenowned artist, activist, and icon ai weiwei, followed by a conversation with richard gere and david miliband on the plight of refugees all over the world. Ai weiweis film is most potent when it is on the move, following this human flow as people trudge onwards.
Filmed over one year, human flow was shot by 25 film crews in afghanistan, bangladesh, france, greece, germany, hungary, iraq, israel, mexico, pakistan, palestine, serbia, syria, turkey and elsewhere. Human flow, an epic film journey led by internationally renowned artist ai weiwei, gives a powerful visual expression to massive human migration elucidating both the staggering scale of the refugee crisis and its profoundly personal human impact. Filmmaker ai weiwei examines the staggering scale of the refugee crisis and its profoundly personal human impact. Near the beginning of the film, ai cuts from an overhead shot of a. The walls that countries have erected to block the flow of refugees is not all that. It was shot using various technologies, including drones, cameras and iphones. Wbez film contributor milos stehlik of facets joins us to talk about ais ambitious achievement. This visceral work of cinema is a testament to the unassailable human spirit and poses one of the questions that will define this century. Human flow is produced by ai weiwei, chinchin yap and heino deckert and executive produced by andrew cohen of ac films with jeff skoll and diane weyermann of participant media. Human flow, an epic film journey led by the internationally renowned artist ai weiwei, gives a powerful visual expression to this massive. Human flow, an epic film journey led by the internationally renowned artist ai weiwei, gives a powerful visual expression to this massive human migration. With human flow, ai weiwei takes a global perspective on.
Over 65 million people around the world have been forced from their homes to escape famine, climate change and war in the greatest human displacement. Will our global society emerge from fear, isolation, and selfinterest and choose a path of openness. Worldrenowned artist, activist and filmmaker ai weiwei artfully captures the massive and shocking breadth of the global migration crisis in this epic film, which portrays the. On sunday, october 8th, join new america nyc for a private screening of human flow, a sweeping new film by worldrenowned artist, activist, and icon ai weiwei, followed by a conversation with richard gere and david miliband on the plight of refugees all over the world. The documentary elucidates both the staggering scale of the refugee crisis and its profoundly personal human impact. Human flow, in which chinese artist and filmmaker ai weiwei documents. Amazon studios and participant media present, in association with ac films, human flow, a film directed by ai weiwei. Human flow tries to capture the magnitude of the migrant. Human flow flyer world affairs council of pittsburgh. More than 65 million people have been forcibly displaced due to war, persecution, climate. His whole career has been about resisting borders of all kinds, about unifying art and activism. Human flow is impressively comprehensive, yet in trying to cover so much weiweis efforts inevitably feel like they fall short.
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