Documentary backdrop image for China's Artful Dissident (2019)

Documentary backdrop image for China's Artful Dissident (2019)

201957 minMdocumentary

8.0/ 10(2 ratings)• TMDB

Art History Civil Rights

China's Artful Dissident

201957 minMdocumentary

8.0/ 10(2 ratings)• TMDB

Ai Weiwei, a prominent political artist in exile, challenges the Chinese Communist Party's censorship and human rights abuses through his activism and art.

Art History Civil Rights

Genres

Director

Danny Ben-Moshe

Synopsis

Ai Weiwei, a prominent political artist in exile, challenges the Chinese Communist Party's censorship and human rights abuses through his activism and art.

People

Danny Ben-Moshe

Danny Ben-Moshedirector

Danny Ben-Moshe

Danny Ben-Moshewriter

Synopsis

Ai Weiwei, a prominent political artist, lives in exile as he challenges the Chinese Communist Party's grip on history and expression. Directed by Danny Ben-Moshe, "China's Artful Dissident" runs for 57 minutes and documents Weiwei's activism against human rights abuses and censorship in China. The film details his artistic responses to government oppression and his efforts to confront the regime's manipulation of information while advocating for freedom of expression.

Comments

What are people saying?

We wrote about this film

iwonder is now available in Hong Kong
iwonder's award-winning and thought-provoking films are now available in Hong Kong
11 May 2020

Play More Like This

Sunrise Over Tiananmen Square (2010)

Sunrise Over Tiananmen Square

2010•29m•★6.9

On June 4, 1989, a former comrade witnessed the massacre of protesters in Tiananmen Square, marking a turning point in his life and beliefs.

Sunrise Over Tiananmen Square

Inside China's Global War on Dissidents (2025)

Inside China's Global War on Dissidents

China's aggressive tactics against dissidents abroad are highlighted through the experiences of three activists in America fighting for democracy and freedom.

Inside China's Global War on Dissidents

Gaza: The dangers of underground art (2022)

Gaza: The dangers of underground art

In Gaza, young artists navigate the challenges of expressing their creativity under an Israeli blockade and the restrictions imposed by an Islamist government.

Gaza: The dangers of underground art

Uncovering China's Hidden Dissident Movement (2023)

Uncovering China's Hidden Dissident Movement

Hua Ze, a Chinese citizen, navigates police harassment and corruption while engaging with dissidents and citizen journalism in her fight against injustice.

Uncovering China's Hidden Dissident Movement

Hunting Dissidents: How Beijing Spies on Americans (2026)

Hunting Dissidents: How Beijing Spies on Americans

China's aggressive tactics against dissidents abroad are illustrated through the experiences of Tiananmen Square protest leader Juntao Wang, artist Weiming Chen, and asylum seeker Chunyan Wang in the United States.

Hunting Dissidents: How Beijing Spies on Americans

Broken Harmony: China's Dissidents (2019)

Broken Harmony: China's Dissidents

A TV director investigates the disappearance of a friend and uncovers widespread human rights abuses in China, risking everything for justice.

Broken Harmony: China's Dissidents

Ai Weiwei drifting - art, awareness and the refugee crisis (2017)

Ai Weiwei drifting - art, awareness and the refugee crisis

Since 2014, more than 10,000 refugees have died in the Mediterranean, prompting Ai Weiwei to address their plight through his art and activism.

Ai Weiwei drifting - art, awareness and the refugee crisis

Beijing Spring: Chinese Artists Against Power (2025)

Beijing Spring: Chinese Artists Against Power

More than 1,000 people were beaten to death in Beijing on August 18, 1966, as the Cultural Revolution began and artists sought new forms of expression.

Beijing Spring: Chinese Artists Against Power

1966: The Story Of The Westerners Caught In Mao's Revolution (2022)

1966: The Story Of The Westerners Caught In Mao's Revolution

In 1966, Western foreigners in China experienced the upheaval of Mao's Cultural Revolution, contrasting their idealized views of Maoism with the harsh realities faced by the Chinese people.

1966: The Story Of The Westerners Caught In Mao's Revolution

Hong Kong: How Artists rebel against the Government (2026)

Hong Kong: How Artists rebel against the Government

In Hong Kong, underground artists collaborate with a filmmaker to preserve their culture and creativity in response to government-imposed restrictions on freedom of expression.

Hong Kong: How Artists rebel against the Government

The Many Faces Of Rembrandt - Raiders of the Lost Art S02E03 - True Crime (2023)

The Many Faces Of Rembrandt - Raiders of the Lost Art S02E03 - True Crime

Rembrandt's artworks, created throughout his adult life, have been dispersed worldwide, each with its own unique history and significance.

The Many Faces Of Rembrandt - Raiders of the Lost Art S02E03 - True Crime

Crafting History: Stained Glass Art (2022)

Crafting History: Stained Glass Art

Rowan LeCompte and Dieter Goldkuhle create their final stained glass windows for Washington National Cathedral, showcasing a 1,500-year-old Christian craft.

Crafting History: Stained Glass Art

Explore China's Artful Dissident

Trailer Topics FAQ Stream

Where else to watch

Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry (2012)

Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry

2012•1h32m•★7.1

In 2011, Chinese artist Ai Weiwei was arrested after a series of confrontations with authorities, drawing global attention to his activism and art.

Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry

Among Mountains and Streams (2024)

Among Mountains and Streams

2024•1h38m•★8.2

Two exiled artists reflect on their experiences and the role of art in resisting oppression while retreating to a cabin in a serene forest.

Among Mountains and Streams

The Man Who Defied Beijing (2019)

The Man Who Defied Beijing

2019•59m•★6.5

A Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Liu Xiaobo in 2010 while he was imprisoned for his activism in the fight for democracy in China.

The Man Who Defied Beijing

A Revolution on Canvas (2023)

A Revolution on Canvas

2023•1h35m•★6.4

Over 100 paintings by Nicky Nodjoumi, a prominent Iranian artist, went missing after he fled Iran in 1980 due to his controversial works.

A Revolution on Canvas

The Exiles (2022)

The Exiles

2022•1h36m•★8.0

Christine Choy revisits her unfinished 1989 project about Tiananmen Square, reconnecting with exiled activists in Taiwan, Maryland, and Paris.

Revolution of Our Times (2021)

Revolution of Our Times

2021•2h32m•★8.3

Seven groups of protesters share their experiences during the 2019-2020 Hong Kong protests in a film that runs for 152 minutes.

Revolution of Our Times

Bertha Lutz: Women and the U.N. Charter (2021)

Bertha Lutz: Women and the U.N. Charter

2021•1h38m•★10.0

Bertha Lutz played a key role in ensuring women's rights were included in the discussions that shaped the U.N. Charter in 1945.

Bertha Lutz: Women and the U.N. Charter

Browse more like this

Inside China's Global War on Dissidents (2025)

Inside China's Global War on Dissidents

China's aggressive tactics against dissidents abroad are highlighted through the experiences of three activists in America fighting for democracy and freedom.

Inside China's Global War on Dissidents

No digital watch option in your country

Hunting Dissidents: How Beijing Spies on Americans (2026)

Hunting Dissidents: How Beijing Spies on Americans

China's aggressive tactics against dissidents abroad are illustrated through the experiences of Tiananmen Square protest leader Juntao Wang, artist Weiming Chen, and asylum seeker Chunyan Wang in the United States.

Hunting Dissidents: How Beijing Spies on Americans

No digital watch option in your country

1966: The Story Of The Westerners Caught In Mao's Revolution (2022)

1966: The Story Of The Westerners Caught In Mao's Revolution

In 1966, Western foreigners in China experienced the upheaval of Mao's Cultural Revolution, contrasting their idealized views of Maoism with the harsh realities faced by the Chinese people.

1966: The Story Of The Westerners Caught In Mao's Revolution

No digital watch option in your country

Hong Kong: How Artists rebel against the Government (2026)

Hong Kong: How Artists rebel against the Government

In Hong Kong, underground artists collaborate with a filmmaker to preserve their culture and creativity in response to government-imposed restrictions on freedom of expression.

Hong Kong: How Artists rebel against the Government

No digital watch option in your country

The Many Faces Of Rembrandt - Raiders of the Lost Art S02E03 - True Crime (2023)

The Many Faces Of Rembrandt - Raiders of the Lost Art S02E03 - True Crime

Rembrandt's artworks, created throughout his adult life, have been dispersed worldwide, each with its own unique history and significance.

The Many Faces Of Rembrandt - Raiders of the Lost Art S02E03 - True Crime

No digital watch option in your country

Red Art (2008)

Red Art

2008•1h10m•★8.0

Numerous paintings from the Cultural Revolution illustrate how art served as a weapon in the revolutionary struggle led by the Chinese Communist Party.

Beijing Spring (2021)

Beijing Spring

2021•1h40m•★6.0

Hidden 16mm film footage reveals a vibrant art scene in Beijing during the democracy movement from 1978 to 1982, following the Cultural Revolution.

Ai Weiwei: Without Fear or Favour (2010)

Ai Weiwei: Without Fear or Favour

2010•55m•★6.5

Eleven weeks of detention did not silence Ai Weiwei, who continued to advocate for artistic freedom in China before his arrest in April 2011.

Ai Weiwei: Without Fear or Favour

My 1980's (2019)

My 1980's

2019•1h20m•★7.0

Six key artists, including Ai Weiwei and Yang Lian, share their stories of struggle for freedom during a time of change in 1980s China.

At Five on the Dot (2004)

At Five on the Dot

2004•56m•★10.0

On June 27, 1973, Uruguayan workers and students staged the largest peaceful demonstration in Latin America against a military coup.

At Five on the Dot

Browse more by Danny Ben-Moshe

View all films →

Carnaby Street Undressed (2011)

Carnaby Street Undressed

2011

Code of Silence (2014)

Code of Silence

2014

Revenge: Our Dad the Nazi Killer (2023)

Revenge: Our Dad the Nazi Killer

2023

Shalom Bollywood: The Untold Story of Indian Cinema (2017)

Shalom Bollywood: The Untold Story of Indian Cinema

2017

My Mother's Lost Children (2017)

My Mother's Lost Children

2017

Breaking the Silence (2015)

Breaking the Silence

2015

Is this your film?

If you made this film or hold the rights to it, we'd like to talk. We can license it and pay you a share of what it earns.

License it with us →