{"id":8433,"date":"2011-04-19T02:04:54","date_gmt":"2011-04-19T02:04:54","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2011-04-19T02:04:56","modified_gmt":"2011-04-19T02:04:56","slug":"New-Film-to-Offer-Close-up-View-of-Ai-Weiwei","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/asiancemagazine.com\/?p=8433","title":{"rendered":"New Film to Offer Close-up View of Ai Weiwei"},"content":{"rendered":"

As countries around the world call for the release of Ai Weiwei, who was detained April 3 in the Beijing airport by Chinese government officials, a New York filmmaker is finishing up a two-year project \u2013 a feature film about the artist-activist. Alison Klayman, a 26-year-old first-time filmmaker, is scrambling to revise her documentary, \u201cAi Weiwei: Never Sorry,\u201d and rushing to release it in hopes that it will raise consciousness about Mr. Ai\u2019s situation and maybe even aid in his release, according to a story by the WSJ\u2019s Erica Orden.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cI kind of felt like this film would be an important one,\u201d said Ms. Klayman in an interview. \u201cNow it has a whole different meaning.\u201d She spent two years with Mr. Ai, documenting his work in photography, installation, painting and sculpture, as well as his outspoken remarks regarding China and its stance on human-rights issues. According to the story, \u201cWhen Mr. Ai visited a Chengdu police station last year to file a complaint about being beaten, Ms. Klayman accompanied him with her camera, filming the interaction. Police subsequently pulled her aside, demanding she erase the footage in their presence, she said.\u201d But while she made it appear as though she was deleting the tape, Ms. Klayman said her record of the incident survived: Anticipating their demands, she said she had switched the tape for a blank one, having snuck outside to stow the original in her car.<\/p>\n

Ms. Klayman developed a close relationship with Mr. Ai, his family and his numerous assistants, and she appears rattled by his disappearance. “It took me about a week to be able to come back to editing in a really strong way,” she said. “It was just emotional to deal with the film again.” During the first few days of his detainment, she slept with a laptop next to her head, so Skype, the Internet-based calling application, could awaken her with calls bearing news from China.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry TEASER<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n