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Featuring artist, activist and director Ai Weiwei

Ai Weiwei, celebrated contemporary artist, activist and director of The Rest, discusses the plight of refugees in Europe trapped between a disintegrating humanitarian aid system and intensifying nationalism, and his mission to ensure their stories be heard. Hosted by senator Ratna Omidvar.

About the film
Since the 2017 release of internationally acclaimed artist Ai Weiwei's film Human Flow, the global refugee crisis has faded from mass media coverage—but the reality has only gotten worse, with an estimated 68.5 million people displaced in 2018. Compiled from over 900 hours of unused footage from Human Flow, The Rest dives into a more intimate look at the refugees who still hang in limbo as they await sanctuary in Europe. Having fled war, poverty and persecution, and travelled treacherous routes to reach safe harbour, they now endure an overburdened aid system and intensifying nationalism. Through very personal interviews with refugees, we hear of their struggle to keep their lives in balance and of a European system that has failed to protect the most marginalized among us. Heather Haynes

About the host
The Honourable Ratna Omidvar, C.M., O.Ont.
Senator for Ontario, The Senate of Canada, Distinguished Visiting Professor, Global Diversity Exchange (GDX), Ryerson University
Ratna Omidvar is an internationally recognized voice on migration, diversity and inclusion. In 2016, she was appointed to the Senate of Canada as an independent senator for Ontario. Senator Omidvar is the founding Executive Director of the Global Diversity Exchange and is a Distinguished Visiting Professor at Ryerson University. She is co-author of Flight and Freedom: Stories of Escape to Canada (2015).

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