Over 65 million people around the world have been forced from their homes to escape famine, climate change and war in the greatest human displacement since World War II.
Human Flow, an epic film journey led by the internationally renowned artist Ai Weiwei, gives a powerful visual expression to this massive human migration.
The documentary elucidates both the staggering scale of the refugee crisis and its profoundly personal human impact. Captured over the course of an eventful year in 23 countries, the film follows a chain of urgent human stories that stretches across the globe in countries including Afghanistan, Bangladesh, France, Greece, Germany, Iraq, Israel, Italy, Kenya, Mexico, and Turkey.
Human Flow is a witness to its subjects and their desperate search for safety, shelter and justice: from teeming refugee camps to perilous ocean crossings to barbed-wire borders; from dislocation and disillusionment to courage, endurance and adaptation; from the haunting lure of lives left behind to the unknown potential of the future.
Will our global society emerge from fear, isolation, and self-interest and choose a path of openness, freedom, and respect for humanity?
Human Flow comes at a crucial time when tolerance, compassion and trust are needed more than ever. This visceral work of cinema is a testament to the unassailable human spirit and poses one of the questions that will define this century.
A DW film team has been following him around the world for more than a year: Exiled in Europe, Chinese artist Ai Weiwei has made the refugee crisis central to his work. We accompanied him behind the scenes of his latest film ‘Human Flow’.
Human Flow screening (dutch premiere) at IDFA 2017: International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam
Each November, the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) transforms Amsterdam’s city centre into a paradise for documentary film fans. Get tickets here!
A global perspective
With hundreds of international documentaries on offer, IDFA’s programming provides a look at the world from a variety of unique perspectives. Taking viewers to some of the world’s poorest and wealthiest places, the documentaries featured are often as poetic as they are powerful. While Amsterdam’s cinemas play a central role in the festival’s programming, you’ll find a wide variety of special events, lectures, discussions and workshops taking place at venues all over the city.
The complete programme can be found on the IDFA website. A large proportion of the film screenings are in English or with English subtitles.