The Rest (2019, 1h18)

The Restis a documentary by Ai Weiwei about refugees who have arrived in Europe, the world’s bastion of human rights, but now live in limbo within a disintegrating humanitarian aid system. In recent years, these refugees fled war and persecution in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, and other conflict-ridden countries in Africa, Central Asia and the Middle East. They sought refuge in France, Italy, Germany, Greece, Sweden, and Turkey, but most have not found the safe havens of their dreams. Now they are “The Rest,” no longer the centre of media attention, yet unable to move forward with their lives.

Idomeni (2016, 17m)

On March 9, 2016, Macedonia closed its border to Greece, stranding thousands of refugees in Idomeni, a small village at the edge of the two nations. The border closure created a bottleneck where over 16,000 refugees were stuck, in squalid camps. Idomeni captures the everyday conditions of the impeded refugees up to when the camp was evacuated. As the refugees departed, many left behind personal belongings. The film documents the collection of these items, their transportation to Ai Weiwei’s Berlin studio, and the meticulous washing, drying, mending, and archiving of each piece, a process that resulted in the artwork Laundromat (2016). (OV)