The Great Chinese Art Heist

Режиссер

Джон М. Чу

Продюсеры

Дженева Вассерман

Лэнс Джонсон

Джон М. Чу

Фильм на основе одноименной статьи в журнале GQ, рассказывающей о произошедшей в Европе серии краж произведений китайского искусства

The article follows a slew of museum art robberies that occurred in Europe, in which Chinese antiquities were stolen, chiefly those that came from the country’s old Summer Palace which was raided in 1860 by French soldiers. No one knows who the thieves are, but the works of art continually wind up back in China. Essentially, there’s a new generation of wealthy Chinese people who are collecting artifacts from the old Summer Palace. Is China’s government behind the art theft wave? The feature questions who gets to own art, and who gets to own history and culture. The GQ piece also poses the question whether there’s some sort of coordinated effort to reclaim Chinese art.

 

Meanwhile the museums are remaining quiet about the robberies. The thefts put museums in a vulnerable position: Everyone questions their security, no one wants to donate works or materials, and their insurance rates spike as many would question an art institution’s credibility.