Ayotzinapa: Ai Weiwei remembers the 43 missing students in a new documentary

Always with an activist eye, the Chinese artist Ai Weiwei has addressed violations to human rights like the lack of freedom in China or the global crisis of refugees , but he is now presenting in Sundance “Vivos,” (Alive) a documentary about the disappearance of the 43 students of Ayotzinapa .

“We made a deep investigation about the existing reports and about the experts who analyzed it,” he said to EFE before the world premiere of his new film in Park City (Utah, U.S.).

“We noticed that there is not enough understanding not only about the victims who disappeared but also about how this happened and what happens when someone doesn’t return home: what happens with their relatives , how they go on with their lives , how they live with a question that could have no answer,” he added.

With Ai Weiwei as director and the Mexicans Elena Fortes, María Luisa Aguilar, and Daniela Alatorre as producers, “ Vivos ” combines the disheartening narrations of the families with the voices of experts about the notorious case of Iguala in 2014 in which 43 teacher students of Ayotzinapa went missing and that marked a new point in Mexico’s neverending spiral of violence .

Ayotzinapa: Ai Weiwei remembers the 43 missing students in a new documentary

Still with countless questions to solve about such a tragedy and still surrounded by an impenetrable corruption related to drug trafficking violence, the Chinese artist thinks that “Vivos” is coherent with the rest of his work that addresses “the fight for justice and the fight for human rights .”

“What happens in Mexico is something very unique: You have a democratic society but, at the same time, corruption in the judicial system is very powerful,” he asserted.

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“It’ a very violent society and over 90 % of these crimes are never solved. So, what kind of society is this? And how can this kind of society keep on working?” he wonders.

Presented in the out of competition section at Sundance , the most important independent film festival of the United States, “ Vivos ” chooses not so much to adopt the form of a research documentary but to delve into the emotional consequences of a crime of this scale.

Hence, the helplessness of the relatives of the disappeared, the nonsense of violence that absorbs everything, and the darkest face of power are some of the ideas that give shape to this film .

“It’s a very dark and emotional documentary but, at the same time, it focuses on real people : the parents, the brothers, the sisters, the wives, the children...” said Ai Weiwei about there being a bit of light in such a somber film.

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“And they are very innocent and they are very pure . It’s a wonderful society and if they keep asking the same questions and demanding justice , I think they will achieve it someday,” added the artist by asserting he has hope in the future of Mexico and considered that “it all depends on Mexicans.”

On the other hand, Ai Weiwei said he felt “lucky” and “proud” for being able to present “ Vivos ” in such a special and “important” place as Sundance since, in his opinion, at this festival founded by Robert Redford , people understand very well the function of cinematography in society.

Last year, Ai Weiwei unveiled an installation in Mexico , which tells the story of the 43 missing students in a case that exposed the government's incompetence, abuses, and impunity, a frequent theme for the dissident artist.

The installation featured large portraits of the students made from a million multi-colored Legos that hovered above a cavernous exhibit space, images that have become seared into the Mexican conscience by grieving family members who often carry posters with the same images at protests demanding answers for their sons’ disappearance.

Entitled “ Resetting Memories ,” the work also featured a timeline of the 2014 abduction of the trainee-teachers from the Ayotzinapa Rural Teachers College in southern Mexico and the government’s widely disparaged investigation into the case.

“Why do we have to do it? Because every crime creates a vacuum and it poisons society ,” Ai Weiwei told reporters at a news conference last year.

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