The Vancouver Biennale is pleased to present the Ai Weiwei Cinefest Retrospective, a film series celebrating the world renowned Chinese artist Ai Weiwei. Join us at the Rio Theatre for the documentaries NEVER SORRY and THE FAKE CASE on Monday, April 13, AI WEWEI’S APPEAL on Monday, April 20 and an afternoon retrospective featuring the artist’s own films DISTURBING THE PIECE, SO SORRY, and THE CRAB HOUSE Sunday, April 26.
Monday April 13, 2015
6:30 Opening remarks with film critic and author Katherine Monk
6:45 Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry
8:15 (Intermission)
8:30 Ai Weiwei: The Fake Case
$20 advance www.riotheatretickets.ca
$30 per ticket at the door
*Please note this ticket allows access to BOTH films for the evening
Monday April 20, 2015
6:00 Opening Remarks
6:15 Ai Weiwei’s Appeal ¥15,220,910.50
Single Ticket
$10 advance at www.riotheatretickets.ca
$15 at the door
Sunday April 26, 2015
12:00 (Noon) Opening Remarks
12:15 Disturbing the Peace
1:45 So Sorry
2:45 The Crab House
Afternoon ticket (* Allows access to all 3 films this day)
$10 advance at www.riotheatretickets.ca
$15 at the door
** See all six films featured in the Vancouver Biennale’s Ai Weiwei Retrospective:
Ai Weiwei Cinefest Pass: $35.00
All tickets 19+ w/ bar service. Please bring proper ID.
Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry (Alison Klayman, 2012) | Ai Weiwei is China’s most famous international artist, and its most outspoken domestic critic. Against a backdrop of strict censorship and an unresponsive legal system, Ai
expresses himself and organizes people through art and social media. In response, Chinese authorities have shut down his blog, beat him up, bulldozed his newly built
studio, and held him in secret detention. AI WEIWEI: NEVER SORRY is the inside story of a dissident for the digital age who inspires global audiences and blurs the boundaries of art and politics. First-time director
Alison Klayman gained unprecedented access to Ai while working as a journalist in China. Her detailed portrait provides a nuanced exploration of contemporary China and one of its most compelling public figures.
Ai Weiwei: The Fake Case (Andreas Johnsen, 2013) | 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 met with a gigantic lawsuit from the Chinese government, soon to be named ‘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.