Ai Weiwei puts human face on migrant crisis in ‘Human Flow’

The United Nations says there are 65 million forcibly displaced people around the world — a number so huge it can be overwhelming to contemplate.

Artist Ai Weiwei wants to make viewers see both the scale of the crisis and the humanity of the migrants 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, draws on a 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 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.’’

“I feel I am part of it,’’ he said of the migrant crisis. “I know them so well. They are part of me.’’

Many other people feel detached and powerless when faced with images of migrants making perilous journeys by land and sea. Ai says that is due in part to news reports, which inform people but can also dull the senses.

“Because you feel, ‘This is senseless,’’’ Ai told The Associated Press in Venice. “Then you shut off because the crisis is getting too big, you cannot do anything about it.