Fairytale is a documentary film by the well-known Chinese artist, architect, curator and documentary filmmaker Ai Weiwei.

It documents his project for Europe’s most innovative five-yearly art event Documenta 12 in Kassel, Germany in 2007: Ai Weiwei invited 1001 Chinese citizens of different ages and from various backgrounds to Germany to experience their own fairytale for 28 days.

Fairytale was judged one of the most sensational artworks at Documenta 12.

The 152 minute film documents the whole process beginning with the preparations for the project, through the challenges that the participants had to face, up to the actual journey to Germany, as well as the artist’s ideas behind the work.

‘This is a work I emotionally relate to. It grows and it surprised me.’ — Ai Weiwei