The Brock University Film Series continues this week with Human Flow, a powerful film about the global refugee crisis.

Though he’s known primarily as a star of the contemporary art world, Ai Weiwei makes a dramatic entrance into documentary filmmaking with this recent creation.

Human Flow was shot in 23 countries around the world in an effort to capture the magnitude of a problem that has forced 65 million people from their homes in recent years.

The result is a film of unbelievable empathy and humanity, one that was tackled by an artist who has been living in exile for years, and who feels a profound connection to the story and to the countless individuals involved.

Weiwei never makes the film about himself, but is present in a number of key scenes, reaching out to some of the refugees he’s met, communicating with them, capturing their stories and letting them be seen and heard.   

For more than 40 years, the Department of Communication, Popular Culture and Film has hosted Brock’s film series to bring some of the best in international, independent and Canadian cinema to St. Catharines. Films, all selected from the TIFF circuit, screen most Wednesdays until April 4 at the Pen Centre’s Landmark Cinemas.

Tickets for each screening are $10 for adults and $5 for Brock students and can be purchased in the lobby of Landmark Cinemas each Wednesday night. Season tickets are also available. For more information and a full lineup, see the BUFS website.