Indivisible Calls America to Peaceful Action on October 18
By Ezra Levin, Co-Founder and Co-Executive Director, Indivisible and
Peter Warren, Indivisible San Pedro
This is an answer to the Trump administration’s lies about Indivisible, and it is a call to action. We are a peaceful, people-powered movement challenging the administration’s authoritarian actions against the people of the United States.
We are courageous activists organizing in every state and nearly every congressional district — red, blue, and purple. We’re in the cities Trump is invading and the rural areas he promised to fight for, but now attacks.
There is nothing an authoritarian fears more than peaceful, organized people power. That’s why the White House is now turning its sights on us.
You may have seen reporting from Reuters or heard new rumors circulating in the media that Trump’s administration is preparing to target Indivisible alongside other organizations. We don’t have all the details, but it appears they’re gearing up to smear us with ludicrous accusations that we’re somehow tied to violence at protests — a claim that’s as false as it is predictable. These stories, and the rumors around them, are all part of the same authoritarian playbook: discredit, divide, and intimidate people into silence a week before the Oct. 18 No Kings protests.
Let’s call this what it is: a baseless attempt by an authoritarian regime to chill free speech, to scare people from exercising their constitutional rights.
Here’s the truth:
Indivisible has been committed to nonviolence from the very beginning. It’s a core principle, not just a talking point. Our events prohibit weapons; we’ve trained thousands of people in de-escalation; and we expect every Indivisible event host and participant to uphold our commitment to peaceful protest.
Peaceful protest is our strength. Movements that last, movements that win, are disciplined, courageous, and grounded in values. That’s how we’ve beaten authoritarian movements before in this country, and that’s how we’ll beat Trump’s MAGA agenda.
And none of that matters to Trump, because this is simply meant to chill free speech. The timing is not accidental. By floating false allegations of violence, Trump’s White House is trying to scare people away from exercising their constitutional rights. We won’t let them succeed.
Here’s what we need from you:
Keep organizing. Don’t let this smear distract you. The best response to attacks on our rights is to exercise our rights. And that means showing up in huge numbers on Oct. 18. If you haven’t yet made plans to attend an event happening near you, start planning now.
Reaffirm our principles. Share Indivisible’s nonviolence commitment with your friends, family, and fellow Indivisible group members. Make sure everyone knows: We show up firmly, strategically, and peacefully.
Stay safe and disciplined. In the lead-up to No Kings, we’re working with our partners on several safety, Security, and de-escalation training sessions. Sign up for an upcoming training here, or catch up with the ones you’ve missed.
Trump and Stephen Miller want us afraid. They want us divided. But we are building this movement together, across race, class, and geography, and we know that’s the only way to win.
We’re not backing down. We’ll see you in the streets on Oct 18.
On Oct. 13, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed seven bills related to children and cyber security, with many of them focused on regulating articifical intelligence, or AI. This included Assembly Bill 316, which prevents the developer of an AI from from being able to claim that an AI that harmed the user did it autonomously, and use that as a defense in a lawsuit.
Newsom also signed AB 853, which amends the California AI Transparency Act. The act was set to go into effect on Jan. 1, 2026, and would require anyone who makes an AI sytem with more than a million monthly visitors to have an AI detection tool. The purpose of this would be to alert users whether a photo or video was altered or created by AI.
AB 853 changes the act by delaying its implementation to Aug. 7, 2026, but also establishes stricter rules. Beginning on Jan. 1, 2027, websites with more than a million users will need to be able to detect and alert users to any available information about AI generated content, particularly who or what created it. It also prevents any such website from taking away a digital signature or any other identifying information from the content.
Other bills include stronger penalties for deepfake pornography, social media warning labels, and guidance to prevent cyber bullying. The full list of bills Newsom signed on Oct. 13 is below:
AB 56 by Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan (D-Orinda). Social media: warning labels.
AB 316 by Assemblymember Maggy Krell (D-Sacramento). Artificial intelligence: defenses.
AB 621 by Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan (D-Orinda). Deepfake pornography.
AB 772 by Assemblymember Josh Lowenthal (D-Long Beach). Cyberbullying: off-campus acts: model policy.*
AB 853 by Assemblymember Buffy Wicks (D-Oakland). California AI Transparency Act.
AB 1043 by Assemblymember Buffy Wicks (D-Oakland). Age verification signals: software applications and online services.
SB 50 by Senator Angelique Ashby (D-Sacramento). Connected devices: device protection requests.
SB 243 by Senator Steve Padilla (D-San Diego). Companion chatbots.
Many wore costumes instead of going fully nude, as the weather was much colder than the typical naked bike ride, which takes place during the summer. The ride was organized to protest Trump’s attempt to send the Oregon National Guard to the city, to stop violence he has claimed is occuring there, with no evidence.
About 400 people attended the ride, which was smaller than usual, with the average WNBR getting 10,000 participants. Many wore inflatable costumes, including frog costumes, in solidarity of Seth Todd, who was pepper sprayed by ice agents while wearing such a costume.
The riders also protested ICE’s invasion of the city, with the ride ending outside an ICE facility. The protestors heckled the ICE agents on the roof of the facility, who fired a few rounds of crowd control munitions into the crowd, though it was not clear why.
Trump’s attempts to invade Portland have been blocked by a federal judge, at least temporarily. Trump has been sending the military to invade Democrat controlled cities, including Los Angeles and Chicago. His secretary of war, Pete Hegseth, summoned the top military brass of the country and told them they would be going after U.S. citizens.
Let your imagination play at SALA Gallery San Pedro. SALA, born of local artist Amy Thornberry and friends, unites to share art and ideas in a friendly homey environment. The mission of Sala Gallery is to build community through sharing and enjoying art.
Reverberations, on view at SALA, or Thornberry’s home near San Pedro High School, has recently been extended to Nov. 1. Sala is Spanish for living room which fits well with Thornberry’s mission and is a good antidote for our worldly concerns.
As you enter the living room of the home gallery, two pieces that look as though they were made for their fresh and calm surroundings will attract your attention.
Beth Elliot’s installation piece Lifeboat resembles a cradle – of sorts.She works with natural elements such as palm fronds for many of her works. Lifeboat is a mixed media piece of natural elements hanging from swirling hardware and features a seabird and other charming accents telling the story of this little vessel through Elliot’s whimsical imagination.
Nancy Voegeli-Curran stands next to her “Algae Blooms.” Photo courtesy of Amy Thornberry.
Algae Blooms byNancy Voegeli-Curran is another mixed media work that blossoms with delicate, powdery surfaces in primarily earthy greens and yellow. Her unique works feature lush colors and always call attention to our precarious environment, beautifully so.
Also on view are Thornberry’s abstract window boxes featuring a mixture of collage and paint, notably painted on the outside of the window box glass, creating intriguing, often surprising works.
Abstract Window Box, mixed media by Amy Thornberry
Other works are displayed in various rooms throughout the home and Thornberry is an outgoing and welcoming host who is enthusiastic about showing her guests around.
Both Elliot and Voegeli-Curran have studios at Angels Gate Cultural Center. Thornberry is a movie set painter and yogi who moved to San Pedro in 2000 to join Angels Gate Cultural Center and study with Marie Thibeault, Linda Day, Fran Siegel and Carol Shaw-Sutton at California State University, Long Beach.
“These amazing women artists drew me in,” said Thornberry. “I then got my degree and raised my daughter here … art got a little bit of a back seat.”
Now, with her daughter grown and Thornberry recently returned from a post pandemic hiatus and really craving community, she decided to call up some artist friends and start SALA.
SOLA;s Festive opening. Photo courtesy of Amy Thornberry.
“I love this art community by the sea,” Thornberry added.
I was born a citizen of the United States of America. I served honorably in the United States Marine Corps, swore an oath to defend the Constitution, earned multiple degrees, practiced law, and spent years mentoring students as a university professor. I am not a foreign national. I am not a criminal. I am, by every traditional and legal definition, an American citizen.
Yet today, I am no longer sure of my citizenship. And I am not alone.
The question that once would have seemed paranoid or absurd—Is ICE planning my deportation?—now feels tragically reasonable in the era of the Second Trump Administration. In a country that has shed its constitutional skin, adopted extralegal policies, redefined the meaning of loyalty, and weaponized immigration enforcement, the boundaries between citizen and enemy have begun to blur, not because of factual identity but because of ideological nonconformity.
The Shifting Ground of Citizenship —Citizenship, in its truest form, is more than a birth certificate. It is an active covenant—anchored by rights, responsibilities, and legal protections afforded under a Constitution. But if that Constitution is no longer respected, interpreted in good faith, or even operatively applied by those in power, then what remains of the protections it once offered?
Under the current regime’s authoritarian drift, the United States is not simply enduring political turbulence—it is undergoing a structural transformation. Institutions once considered sacred have been gutted, judicial precedent has been overturned by fiat, and executive overreach has become normalized. Dissent is treated not as patriotism but as treason. And the machinery of the state—especially Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)—has been increasingly redirected toward domestic control rather than international boundary enforcement.
The terrifying irony is that, as a U.S.-born citizen, I now fear the agency originally created to expel those without lawful presence may be leveraged against those who possess too much constitutional fidelity.
From Republic to Regime: A Legal Transmutation — The Trump Administration’s second term has been marked not by governance within constitutional bounds, but by a rejection of them. Consider the hallmarks:
Mass purges and political loyalty tests within federal agencies;
Authoritarian rhetoric labeling domestic critics as “enemies of the state”;
Selective prosecutions and retributive enforcement targeting political opponents;
Manipulated naturalization and denaturalization procedures, not on grounds of fraud but political disfavor.
If, as some legal scholars now argue, the United States has ceased to operate as a constitutional republic—having abandoned the rule of law in favor of consolidated executive power—then what does that mean for the legal standing of citizenship acquired under a now-defunct framework?
ICE, Surveillance, and the National Loyalty Complex — In this new quasi-nation, ICE’s mission may no longer be merely about borders. It has become, in many ways, a tool of ideological enforcement. And there are chilling precedents:
The registry and tracking of U.S. citizens based on heritage, faith, or perceived disloyalty;
The targeting of activists, veterans, and legal professionals with surveillance or intimidation;
The creation of detention centers that exist in legal gray zones—some dubbed by activists as “Alligator Alcatrazes,” where due process is suspended in practice if not in name.
Even native-born Americans have been detained by ICE before—some for days, others for months—due to bureaucratic error or willful ignorance. But what happens when error becomes policy? When disagreement becomes disqualification? When the state begins to manufacture the conditions under which it can say, you no longer belong here?
Legal Identity in a Nation of Lies — I hold a valid U.S. passport. I pay taxes. I vote. I taught constitutional law. And still, I find myself wondering if I am now a foreigner in the land of my birth—an alien not by birthright or behavior, but by belief in a Constitution my government no longer honors.
When governments change in substance but not in name, legal identity becomes unmoored from constitutional legitimacy. If the government that exists now is not the one I swore allegiance to as a Marine, does that mean I am no longer bound to it? Or worse, does that mean the current regime may view me as a defector?
In past authoritarian regimes—from Stalinist Russia to Pinochet’s Chile—citizenship did not protect those deemed politically inconvenient. It served only to identify them more precisely for targeting. Legalism was weaponized to strip individuals of their status, their dignity, and their freedom.
That is no longer ancient history. It is present-day potential.
Conclusion: A Citizen’s Warning — I do not write these words lightly. I write them as a scholar, a veteran, and a son of this country. I still love the ideals this nation once stood for, but I cannot pretend that we remain in the same America I was born into.
Citizenship today is no longer assured by birth or service. It is increasingly conditional upon obedience to a regime that has turned the law into a tool of suppression. If the name “United States of America” is retained merely for branding while its core principles are discarded, then we must ask: Who are we now?
And more urgently: What will they do to those of us who remember who we used to be?
Older downtowns throughout California were struggling before the COVID-19 pandemic; most have not recovered. It’s a huge loss in jobs, wages, and tax base for both cities and the state. This is also true in San Pedro and other parts of the greater Harbor Area.
Vacancy rates are up, small businesses are struggling to survive in general, and civic leaders are confused and will try almost anything to change this decline. Here in San Pedro, the San Pedro Property Owners Alliance has taken to promoting the “night market”, which, for all intents and purposes, is nothing more than a swap meet on the First Thursday, which historically was the art walk and restaurant promotion night. Many are shocked.
At the ArtWalk’s peak, the streets of downtown Pedro were crowded with more than 3,000 people, and it was a great party night. I used to call it “the pay the rent party” for most of the restaurants, but since the pandemic, this has changed.
What the SPPOA has done in a naive attempt to cure this with the night market is absolutely wrong because it destroys the intent of the art scene, and does nothing to actually support the arts in general. So why does this even matter?
Some 20 years ago, I realized what was perfectly obvious to myself and many others, which is that San Pedro has had a very long history of creative arts here. It is what you may call an “organic” arts culture. I wrote up the vision statement to create the San Pedro Arts and Culture District, which was endorsed, embraced, and then ratified by the LA City Council as an official district of Los Angeles.
About this same time, the San Pedro Chamber brought in the Urban Land Institute (a group of urban planners and notable architects) to study the downtown area and offer advice. One of their top three findings was that while other towns have to invent an arts district, we had a vibrant, organic one with hundreds of artists, musicians and craftsmen here. It was considered one of our “assets” along with some of the historic buildings that they recommended be preserved. When the original ACE district was formed under my leadership, the Community Redevelopment District promised and delivered $500,000 to support the arts.
Before the ink was dry on that deal, the leadership of the SPPOA came up to me and promised that they would fund the arts district with more money sooner than the CRA would. That promise never happened, still hasn’t happened, and in the end, the CRA money came through and benefited many artists and arts organizations — it was an investment in the vision. Today, the only vision the SPPOA has is built upon the vagaries of the tourist industry and the promise that the West Harbor is going to be a bigger destination than what Ports O’ Call Village was in the 1970s and 1980s.
In the meantime, San Pedro has attracted the eyes of the speculator development class, who buy up properties and “land bank” them, waiting for the values to rise based upon the great success of the West Harbor development. Many of these business properties lie vacant, dilapidated, or even demolished but never built, and are a blight on the community and its aspiration for economic development.
And what happens is that the “organic arts community” gets threatened with rising rents because of what? There are too many vacant storefronts, which won’t be rented at the rates the landlords are asking, and you’d think that the lack of demand would lower the prices of rent instead of raising them.
So, let’s bring in a cheap night market and only advertise it on social media and not tell anyone local what we are up to. There’s a quote in the Bible that goes, “where there is no vision the people perish,” and sadly, folks, the leadership here has no real vision for the downtown arts district other than as a bullet point on the propaganda to draw tenants to the new developments. I’m sorry to say it, but if you don’t invest in the things and people that you’ve got, you are going to destroy all of the creative things in pursuit of the golden calf on the waterfront.
In other waterfront towns, the leaders recognize and invest in the arts and culture.
“We’re bringing positive energy to downtown Oakland through cultural programming, vibrant public spaces, and thriving small businesses,” said Mayor Barbara Lee. What San Pedro has is authenticity, something other places try to invent, that have no history, that have no cultural context, things that we do.
And yet former LA City Councilman Joe Buscaino, without any historical context, designates one piece of the Downtown as Little Italy, ignoring the 20 or 30 other nationalities and saying that the 5,000 people in Pedro with Italian surnames are the largest collection in California. Now I eat pizza and linguine like anyone else, but I take a certain offense to one group commandeering a piece of my town that historically had more dive bars, whorehouses and gambling joints than any other port town on the West Coast. Designating it as Little Italy is completely ahistorical, and the redevelopment of Pepper Tree Plaza into Piazza Italia is completely absurd — stupid in a word.
It is far past time for the SPPOA, the San Pedro Chamber, and the LA City Council to fund the arts at a sustainable level and for the landlords to understand basic market principles of supply and demand — quit gaming the rents! And while the city seeks a means to fund the arts, perhaps a special tax on vacant properties would be an incentive.
Instead of commandeering First Thursday for a Gypsy Swap Meet just put it on anyone of the other days of the month and let the ArtWalk be the art walk. And then invest just two percent of your budget supporting the arts!
The MWGOE is a four-day gathering where Native/Indigenous Elders and knowledge-keepers from across the country gather to share teachings through oral tradition with the community. The Gathering also hosts Native ceremonies throughout the four days. MWGOE is held in partnership with AGCC, open to the public, free to attend and family friendly. The MWGOE plays a vital role in the Native community of greater Los Angeles, with the participation and support of the original peoples of the land. The vision of the Gathering is to host a sacred space for people to come together, with the intention to listen, learn from and support Indigenous communities, and to inspire a healthier future for all people. Elders from local tribes including Gabrielino-Shoshone, Gabrieleno Tongva, Acjachemen, Fernandeño Tataviam, Chumash, and other California tribes have attended in the past and will join this October. Tribal Elders from other regions (Arizona, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Dakota and others) are expected, as well as Elders from Canada and Mexico. The Gathering takes place under an arbor which serves as the traditional place of teaching and learning – where Elders pass on knowledge to the younger generation, which is part of intergenerational healing from historical trauma. The 2025 MWGOE Logo Art was created by artist Jamie Rocha (Gabrielino-Shoshone Nation). This year’s design features a turtle representing North America, or “Turtle Island,” as referred to by many Indigenous people. Read more about this year’s logo here.
During the Many Winters Gathering of Elders, no alcohol, drugs, cameras, pictures, video or other recording equipment are allowed; the MWGOE Organizing Committee requests that attendees respect and observe ceremonial protocol, available on the MWGOE Linktree. No dogs/pets allowed near or around the arbor or sweatlodge areas.
Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story listed the date of Gala as Oct. 1. It has been corrected to Nov. 1. We are sorry for the error.
Two local nonprofits with totally different missions have come together to tap into the strength of community. This November, celebrate the power of storytelling and compassion with Girls IN Focus or GIF and Pedro Pet Pals or PPP as they join forces for their first collaborative fundraiser gala, Gal Pals & Pet Pals: Storytellers & Rescuers Unite.
The event happens Nov.1, at the San Pedro Elks Lodge, featuring a buffet dinner, live music, boutique vendors, a live auction, a fashion show, and karaoke to close out the night—all within a Día de los Muertos–inspired celebration.
In 2024, GIF students turned their cameras toward their own community, creating a documentary project titled Compassion In Action, which spotlighted Pedro Pet Pals. Through interviews with founder Theresa Sardisco, the short film chronicled PPP’s early beginnings and ongoing impact. The piece highlighted the importance of animal rescue, but also proved how young filmmakers can create work that inspires empathy and change. Compassion In Action will be screened at the Nov. 1 fundraiser gala, bringing the partnership between storytellers and rescuers full circle.
GIF working with the camera. Photo courtesy of Girls IN Focus.
Storytelling IN Focus
Founded by filmmaker and executive director of GIF, Dunya Djordjevic, Girls IN Focus is entering its 7th year and preparing for the 2026 Summer Filmmaking Intensive at Pixels Studio in San Pedro. Open to girls and non-binary youth ages 12–18, the two-week summer intensive program turns no students away. Emulating a professional film set and etiquette, participants collaborate to write, shoot, direct, act in, and edit their films, while receiving workshops from film industry professionals to learn the technical and creative processes. The program culminates in the annual GIF Film Fest, a public red-carpet screening that showcases every film.
“It’s transformative for girls to see their stories up on the big screen,” said Djordjevic. “They leave knowing their voices matter. 100% of our alumnae have gotten into top film schools with their films in line with the organization’s mission to ‘shatter the gender gap in film one girl at a time.’”
Girls iN focus at past gala. Photo courtesy of GIF
Compassion in Action
For Pedro Pet Pals, the mission is equally powerful: every animal deserves comfort, care, and a chance at a better life. The all-volunteer nonprofit adopts out hundreds of animals each month while supporting local shelters with essential supplies, lifesaving equipment, and community programs such as spay/neuter services and pet owner education. Their work creates a more compassionate future for animals in San Pedro, the South Bay, and beyond.
Pedro Pet Pals kitty. Photo courtesy of Girls IN Focus.Councilman Tim McOsker with PPP pup. Photo courtesy pf GIF.
Shared Values
With Pedro Pet Pals rescuing animals and Girls IN Focus nurturing storytellers, the gala will celebrate shared values of compassion, vision, and women led businesses in the community. Guests can expect a festive evening of entertainment, plus meet 10 woman-run local businesses inside the pop-up boutique, in addition to supporting two grassroots nonprofit organizations and making a lasting impact locally and beyond. All proceeds are divided equally 50/50 for GIF scholarships and PPP much needed supplies.
Looking Ahead
Today, with its alumni entering film studio jobs GIF continues to pave the way for the next generation of filmmakers from its home base at Pixels Gallery & Creative Space Studio in San Pedro. Enrollment is open for the June 2026 Summer Filmmaking Intensive: girls-in-focus.com/intesive-focus-2026
Monthly weekend workshops are also offered on zoom year-round. Check for film screenings and workshops at: www.Girls-IN-Focus.com; Email questions and scholarship requests to: info@girls-in-focus.com
For PPP the work continues daily—rescuing, fostering, and rehoming animals while advocating for responsible pet ownership and humane communities. For more information about Pedro Pet Pals visit: www.PedroPetPals.com
Almost one year ago, on Oct 29, 2024, the Port of LA announced it had been awarded a $412 million grant from US.EPA for zero-emission transformation. Significantly, it said, “The grant will set a new standard for environmental stewardship in the maritime industry by directly funding an innovative, community-led $50 million ZE grant program in partnership with the Harbor Community Benefit Foundation, prioritizing investments that benefit frontline, disadvantaged areas.”
Now, after long delays, things appear to be moving forward. “The sub-agreement was signed with the ort earlier this month (Sept 9), so barring some change issued from EPA or the Trump Administration, the program is in effect and underway,” HCBF Board Chair Ed Avol told Random Lengths in late September. .
“HCBF had requested up-front funds from the Port in order to provide an operating fund as the Clean Ports Program launched, staff were hired, and critical elements of the overall program (community engagement, a zero-emissions grants program, and workforce development) were rolled out,” Avol explained. “POLA refused to do so, but offered two ‘work-arounds,’ The first is an effort to “quickly” reimburse submitted invoices,” which it has verbally promised to do much faster than their traditionally 45 days or more. “Regardless, we will begin submitting invoices shortly and will see how it all works,” Avol said.
The second work-around is for funds in excess of $50,000, which could be requested in advance. “We will also have to test this as we get into the details of the community-directed zero-emissions grants program, because most community partners or small organizations cannot easily ‘float’ large expenditures,” Avol said.
Regardless of these problems, “We are excited to begin the program and have hired a Clean Ports Program Coordinator to lead the effort as we gear up,” Avol said.
After their September board meeting, Avol added that the October board meeting would include a discussion round of community benefits funding—a clear sign that things really are moving forward, after all.
When Opera Becomes a Canvas for Global Crises and Artistic Defiance
Everything is art. Everything is politics, — Ai Weiwei
The documentary Ai Weiwei’s Turandot illustrates the significance of art in our lives. Originally asked to direct Giacomo Pucinni’s longstanding and unfinished opera in 2017, renowned artist and activist Ai Weiwei realized an opportunity to revisit and complete a circle he began 33 years earlier, in 1987, as an extra in Franco Zeffirelli’s Turandot at the Metropolitan Opera House.
Ai Weiwei opened the film, saying he is not interested in opera and does not listen to music.
However, the artist “likes to do what he is not good at,” he noted his challenge was to find out if Pucinni’s vision still works in contemporary philosophy and art.
“My Turandot is going to be different,” said Ai Weiwei.
Ai Weiwei’s production of Giacomo Puccini’s Turandot showed in Rome from March 22 to 31, 2022, at the Teatro dell’Opera. The film recently screened at Laemmle’s Monica Film Center in Los Angeles.
Puccini, the great Italian composer, wrote La bohème, Tosca, Madame Butterfly, and Turandot – all are among today’s most performed operas. Each one features heartrending music at its center. His final opera, Turandot, which includes the great Nessun dorma, one of the most recognizable and beloved arias in the operatic repertoire, is one of the few 20th-century operas to have sustained a firm foothold in opera houses worldwide.
While his early work encompassed traditional, late-19th-century Romantic Italian opera, Puccini became better known for writing in the verismo style – Italian for realism. His works are known for their lush melodies, emotional intensity, and keen understanding of dramatic storytelling.
Turandot, written in three acts, is based on Carlo Gozzi’s play of the same name, which draws inspiration from the Persian collection of stories, One Thousand and One Nights. A Persian word, Turandot, means “the daughter of Turan” – a region of Central Asia which used to be part of the Persian Empire.
Turandot the Emporor’s Daughter from Ai Weiwei’s Turandot. Photo courtesy of La Monte Productions
Set in ancient China, Puccini’s opera tells the story of a beautiful but cold-hearted Chinese princess, Turandot, who challenges her suitors with riddles. Suitors who fail to answer correctly will be executed. The narrative unfolds as an unknown prince, Calaf, takes up the challenge, risking his life for the chance to win Turandot’s love.
Ai Weiwei’s Turandot follows the artist’s journey as he aims to present the complex challenges that afflict humanity today: the Ukraine war, refugee crises, the COVID pandemic, and more. The film explores the lasting vitality of Puccini’s masterpiece while highlighting its deep connection to Ai Weiwei’s life and artistic vision.
An old family friend and collaborator of Ai Weiwei’s, Chian Ching, the opera’s choreographer, adds an intimate look into Ai Weiwei’s perspective and motivation. Ching also worked on the same 1987 Turandot production as her comrade. She explained that Ai Wetwei’s father, Ai Quing, was exiled for many years in Xinjiang because he was a revolutionary poet, and that the son relates a lot to his father’s spirit.
Ai Weiwei and his comrade and choreographer,Chian Ching Photo courtesy of La Monte Productions
Together, they provide an exploration of the intersection between art, politics, and the human experience.
In particular, the artist’s staging of Turandot is a social commentary displayed via artistic installation. As described by Andrea Miglio, the film’s set design supervisor, Ai Weiwei’s initial idea for the set alluded to a piece that he created 20 years earlier, an extrusion of the geographical map of China. For Turandot, the extrusion was multiplied to encompass the whole world, spreading it throughout the stage. In this installation, he organized where people stood on stage to emphasize the higher or lower class. The holes in this extrusion are often filled with poorer people, and the stairs, which are elevated, represent the oligarchs or the rich. It took 9 months to build this set, a job that would normally take 3 months. Ai Weiwei avoided “Chineseness” but rather made a global map of the stage, connecting to the artist’s bigger vision; it’s not a local issue, it’s a human race issue.
“Ai Weiwei is not a man of theater, but he was guided by the adaptation of ideas,” said Miglio.
Ai Weiwei explains the psychology behind the main character, Turandot (which I won’t mention, so as not to spoil), with an astute understanding of the human condition.
Tenor/Calaf (Michael Fabiano) said he knows Ai Weiwei as a free speech magnet.
“Calaf is a freedom fighter …. Winning Turandot means changing policy for the world, changing global ideas. If he can win Turandot, he changes idealism for the rest of the world. If he is able to conquer or compell a very important leader that freedom of ideas is going to bring more prosperity, then the rest of the world wins. And I think that’s what he’s fighting for.”
Ai Weiwei described Turandot as the perfect story about China; “both the fantasy about it and the beauty and crudeness; the imagination about China.”
Turandot regia di Ai Weiwei photo by Fabrizio Sansoni Teatro dell’Opera di Roma 2022. Photo courtesy of La Monte Productions
The revolutionary artist and iconoclastic activist’s selection of this opera, once banned in China, aligns with his challenging of norms. The film follows Ai Weiwei as he infuses the opera with a contemporary perspective, bridging the past and the present. His incorporation of installation art, performance art, and conceptual art resulted in an original and immersive experience.
As an activist, AiWeiwei has been openly critical of the Chinese government’s stance on democracy and human rights. Noted in the film, Ai Weiwei investigated government corruption and cover-ups, in particular the Sichuan schools corruption scandal following the collapse of “tofu-dreg schools” in the 2008 Sichuan earthquake. In 2011, Ai Weiwei was arrested at Beijing Capital International Airport on April 3, for “economic crimes.” He was detained for 81 days without charges. Since that time, he emerged as an instigator in Chinese cultural development, an architect of Chinese modernism, and one of the nation’s most vocal political commentators. From architecture to installations, social media to documentaries, Ai Weiwei uses a wide range of platforms to share new ways for his audiences to examine society and its values.
In his director’s statement, Maxim Derevianko said when they started shooting in February 2020 he was trying to make a documentary about Ai Weiwei’s creative process with Puccini’s Turandot —but then something incredible happened.
“We started hearing about the Coronavirus that was slowly spreading, and suddenly the pandemic started. Theaters, cinemas, museums, and art in general were the first things to come to a standstill, and eventually close. As Ai Weiwei says in one of his interviews in the film: “Suddenly it is like you build a home, and it collapses.” For a moment, art loses all its meaning and its power; art and the artists are challenged about their existence. Through all this, the documentary evolved, and became not only about Ai Weiwei’s creative process, but also asked the questions, ‘What is art? and ‘Why do we need it?” The production was back two years later, and of course everything had a very different taste. Putting this opera on stage was not merely opening a curtain, and playing music for a few hours, it was delivering a message of love, of freedom of expression and finally for artists being fighters, activists and symbols of these values, like all of Ai Weiwei’s works.”
Watch Ai Weiwei’sTurandot on various platforms, including streaming services like MUBI, Fandango at Home, and Doc Edge Virtual Cinema, as well as through streaming for purchase or rental.
