“Who’s Afraid of Ai Weiwei?” Director Headed to Sundance

Share:

(Alison Klayman)

December 1, 2011

Congratulations to filmmaker Alison Klayman, whose full-length film on China’s most famous artist and provocateur, Ai Weiwei Never Sorry, will premiere at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival in Utah this January. The film is one of 16 in the festival’s U.S. documentary competition.

Klayman spent two years filming Ai and produced the FRONTLINE story Who’s Afraid of Ai Weiwei?, which aired in March shortly before he was detained by the Chinese authorities for three months. You can watch the full segment below.

Shortly after Ai’s release, I spoke with Klayman about her upcoming film:

In a way, his release gave me the freedom to return to the film I always intended to create: an in-depth portrait of a world-famous artist and an engaged citizen of China. No longer at the mercy of such dire current events, I am able to take a more timeless approach to the storytelling, and Weiwei is the most incredible character. I feel so lucky as a documentarian to have a rich and important subject, and that so many people around the world are waiting to see more of him.

You can follow filmmaker Alison Klayman on Twitter, or the Twitter account for Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry, her upcoming documentary.


More Stories

9/11, More Than 20 Years Later: 20 Essential Documentaries to Watch
These films, selected from more than two decades of extensive FRONTLINE reporting, probe that fateful day and its lasting impacts on America and the world.
September 5, 2025
Watch FRONTLINE’s 5 Most-Streamed Documentaries of 2025 (So Far)
Looking for some documentaries to watch as summer continues? We’ve got you covered.
August 6, 2025
Tonight's New Documentary, This Month, and the Future
A note from FRONTLINE Editor-in-Chief and Executive Producer Raney Aronson-Rath.
July 29, 2025
The Iran-Israel Conflict and the U.S. Role: 11 Documentaries to Watch
Decades of tensions between Israel and Iran erupted into war in June. These FRONTLINE films offer context and background on the conflict, both countries’ leaders and ambitions, the role of the U.S., and the ongoing impact across the Middle East.
July 29, 2025