Ai Weiwei and Eyal Weizman attend CPH:DOX to highlight rights issues

CPH:DOX is in the midst of announcing what audiences can expect at this year’s festival – and as usual, there are many international stars among them. Previously, fashion icon Twiggy and renowned musician Warren Ellis were announced as guests presenting their respective documentary films. Today, the festival proudly reveals that Chinese multidisciplinary artist, political dissident, and human rights activist Ai Weiwei, along with internationally recognized Israeli architect and researcher Eyal Weizman, will also be attending. The full programme will be released on February 26th.

These visits are highly anticipated by CPH:DOX’s Artistic Director, Niklas Engstrøm:

“Under the theme Right Here, Right Now, this year’s festival places a strong focus on rights in their broadest sense: human rights, civil rights, international law, and even animal rights. In today’s politically unstable and polarized world, rights are under increasing pressure. I am therefore incredibly proud that CPH:DOX has succeeded in bringing two such influential figures, Ai Weiwei and Eyal Weizman, to Copenhagen. These individuals have demonstrated how art and architecture can be powerful tools to articulate, debate, and, not least, defend the fundamental rights we have long taken for granted.”

Right Here, Right Now is supported by Dreyer Fond og Frececo Fonden.

Ai Weiwei x 3 – Activism, animals and opera

Ai Weiwei, one of the world’s most influential contemporary artists and activists, is known for using his art to challenge censorship and advocate for human rights. At CPH:DOX, he will present his latest documentary film and participate in an in-depth discussion on how his artistic practice intersects with activism in the fight for freedom of speech and against political oppression.

On March 20, Ai Weiwei will share his experiences using art as a tool for social change, discuss his involvement with organizations like Human Rights Watch, and reflect on how art can challenge systems that restrict freedom. This event will take place at CPH:DOX’s Social Cinema at Kunsthal Charlottenborg, a venue dedicated throughout the festival to discussions on human rights. Buy tickets HERE.

On March 21, the world premiere of Ai Weiwei’s latest documentary, ‘Animality’, will take place. This film explores the complex and multifaceted relationship between humans and animals—a calm, non-judgmental, and kaleidoscopic examination of humanity’s collective behavior and its connection to the natural world. Following the world premiere at Dagmar Teatret, Ai Weiwei will participate in a talk about the documentary. Buy tickets HERE.

But Ai Weiwei’s presence at CPH:DOX does not stop there. He is also the focal point of the documentary Ai Weiwei’s Turandot, directed by Maxim Derevianko, which follows his production of Puccini’s opera Turandot at the Rome Opera House. Here, he uses the opera as a backdrop to address major global issues. The international premiere of ‘Ai Weiwei’s Turandot’ with Ai Weiwei and Maxim Derevianko will be held in Dagmar on 21. March. Buy tickets HERE.

Eyal Weizman – Architecture, power and human rights

Israeli architect and researcher Eyal Weizman is internationally recognized for his work using the principles of architecture to investigate human rights violations. On March 22, after the screening of the architecture documentary ‘Rule of Stone’, part of this year’s CPH:DOX program, you can meet Eyal Weizman in a conversation about the aesthetic, ideological and politically strategic role of architecture in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

London-based Eyal Weizman is Head of Forensic Architecture at the University of London, where he researches how architecture is used to maintain power. The conversation will be moderated by Politiken’s debate editor Lotte Folke Kaarsholm and will focus on the hidden power of architecture and its intricate connections to the political world. It is presented in collaboration with the Royal Danish Academy and will be in English. Buy tickets HERE.

The documentary ‘Rule of Stone’ explores Jerusalem stone and the Israeli law mandating its use in new constructions in Jerusalem. Through a creative blend of archival footage and interviews with architects, urban planners, and local residents, Rule of Stone reveals how law, stone, and architecture have been used as a silent yet effective means of marginalizing Palestinian neighborhoods since Israel’s capture of East Jerusalem in 1967.

Look Forward to CPH:DOX 2025
For the 22nd time, CPH:DOX will open its doors from March 19-30, 2025, with the ambition of presenting audiences with the best documentary films from around the world while also addressing some of today’s most controversial and urgent issues through talks, debates, and events.

So far, the festival has announced a range of special events and premieres, as well as its broad competition program. The full program will be released on February 26.