September 18, 2020 10:23 PM
Ai, a dissident who left China five years ago, directed and produced the film “Coronation” from Europe, where he now lives, using footage shot often in secret by dozens of volunteers in hospitals, homes and quarantine zones during the city’s lockdown early this year. But, he said, “you must go deeper and also ask what kind of societies they are and what kind of sacrifices they have made to deal with a crisis like this”.
Nor was it known how many people had been “jailed or detained for speaking out” against the official line in this “opaque, authoritarian, military-style society, under the control of one person’s will,” he said.Ai chronicles the massive means deployed by China to fight the virus outbreak, its strict rules and resulting human tragedies in captivating scenes.