Susan Sarandon on the Perils of Censorship at the Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry Premiere
New Yorkers who walked by the Pulitzer Fountain outside the Plaza Hotel last summer might have been familiar with the artist Ai Weiwei, or at least with his work. His large, striking bronze sculptures, an interpretation of the Chinese zodiac, were impossible to miss on the walk across town on 59th Street.
But what they may not have known was that the installation went on without the artist: he was missing, detained by the Chinese government, supposedly for tax evasion, after many his acts of protest against censorship.
Alison Klayman wants to fill in these gaps of knowledge. Her new documentary, Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry premiered last night at a Peggy Siegal Company screening at the Chelsea Clearview Cinema, hosted by Susan Sarandon, to a crowd mostly of New York City artists and film makers.
“I think whenever anyone sees censorship of any kind that the only way [censorship] can continue is if everyone is silent,” Ms. Sarandon told The Observer. “They used to say silence equals death.” Read More
