Kanopy, the free-to-user streaming service, has partnered with the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) to stream films from SFMOMA’s Turn It On: China Film, 2000-2017.  Artist Ai Weiwei and filmmaker Wang Fen’s co-curated series will highlight documentaries from the last two decades that investigate the political, social, economic and cultural conditions on contemporary China.

Turn It On: China on Film, 2000–2017, a free documentary series presenting 20 independent films by more than a dozen of China’s most daring artists and filmmakers will accompany the exhibition Art and China after 1989: Theater of the World at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) this winter. These films, many rarely shown in the United States, will investigate the political, social, economic and cultural conditions of contemporary China. Co-curated by Weiwei and  Wang Fen, 13 films will be screened in the Phyllis Wattis Theater, January 10–27, 2019, and special guest speakers will offer talks with three of the films. A number of these films will also be available  Kanopy, a free on-demand streaming platform.

Kanopy will provide U.S. users with free access to NOW 15 featured documentaries, including acclaimed titles like Readymade, Plastic China, Disturbing the Peace (By Ai Weiwei), Fairytale (by Ai Weiwei) and many others.

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE COLLECTION

DISTURBING THE PEACE Ai Weiwei’s documentary on the events surrounding the 2009 trial of civil rights advocate Tan Zuoren offers a shocking, eye-opening examination of government corruption and police injustices as witnesses are prevented from presenting evidence or speaking out. WATCH NOW PLASTIC CHINA This moving portrait of poverty and ambition follows two Chinese families who make a living recycling plastic waste imported from other countries, putting a human face on global social inequality and the struggle to eke out a living no matter the effort. WATCH NOW

IN SEARCH OF LIN ZHAO’S SOUL A landmark work of Chinese independent documentaries, this film draws upon first-hand witnesses to illuminate the inspiring dedication of political dissident Lin Zhao, who spoke out against Mao Zedong’s rule at the cost of her life. WATCH NOW FALLING FROM THE SKY As the site of the Xichang Satellite Launch Center, a small Hunan Province county copes with the regular fall of dangerous debris. In this insightful documentary, the contrast between the residents’ daily lives and the state’s pursuit of glory is put into sharp, thought-provoking relief. WATCH NOW