Names and faces
Artist and activist Ai Weiwei wants to make viewers see both the humanity of the migrants and the worldwide scale of their movements with his documentary Human Flow, which premiered Friday at the Venice Film Festival. The film, one of 21 competing for the festival’s Golden Lion prize, looks at the plight of Syrian, Rohingya, Afghan and Mexican refugees, as well as the routes they followed and their dealings with various governments. It draws on Ai’s deep empathy with his subjects — one the artist came to through direct experience. “It’s in my blood,” said Ai, who spent his childhood in a remote Chinese community after his poet father was exiled by the country’s Communist Party authorities. “I was born when my father was a refugee,” the artist said Friday. “I understood how low humanity can go from [when I was] very, very young, and how wrong things can go.” The 60-year-old Ai is one of the world’s most successful artists, famous around the world for his installations of bicycles and sunflower seeds. In his native China, he was alternately encouraged, tolerated and harassed, spending time in detention and being barred for years from leaving the country. Ai wanders through the film as a compassionate observer, taking pictures on his phone, talking to people and even cutting one man’s hair. Interspersed with those scenes are aerial shots that turn teeming crowds into almost abstract tableaux. “With this kind of tragedy you are trying to find a language to deal with this large topic,” Ai said. The United Nations says there are 65 million forcibly displaced people around the world.
A Maine-based spice company is partnering with television host Andrew Zimmern for a special line of spice blends. Gryffon Ridge
Spice Merchants has already developed and released five of the seven new blends for Zimmern’s website. Gryffon Ridge owner Christine Pistole drew inspiration for the blends from Zimmern’s worldly travels. The Dresden-based spice house features seasonings like Kentucky Table, Cattle Drive Gusto and Soul of the Caribbean. Each blend comes with recommendations for pairings. Pistole’s 2-ounce jars sell for $10 each. Pistole says working with Zimmern is an exciting opportunity. Gryffon Ridge opened their doors in 2009. The company boasts a collection of 55 unique culinary blends along with more than 100 spices, herbs, salts and chilies.