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The Rest (2018) is a documentary by Ai Weiwei about refugees, who have arrived in Europe, the world's bastion of human rights, but now live in limbo within a disintegrating humanitarian aid system.

Ai Weiwei initiated a "Citizens' Investigation" into the student casualties resulting from the May 12, 2008 Wenchuan earthquake, where poorly constructed 'tofu-dregs' school buildings caused an inordinate number of student deaths. Many of the volunteers carrying out the "Citizens' Investigation" were repeatedly interrogated or otherwise obstructed by the authorities. In Little Girl's Cheeks, we see how the team was able to uncover the names of over 5,000 students who had perished in the disaster by gathering and confirming comprehensive details about the students, and interviewing the many grief-stricken and indignant parents and families.

A Beautiful Life documents the story of Chinese citizen Feng Zhenghu and his struggles to return home. The Shanghai authorities rejected Feng Zhenghu, originally from Wenzhou (Zhejiang Province), from returning to the country eight times until 2009. On November 4, 2009, Feng Zhenghu attempted to return home for the ninth time, but the Shanghai police used force to kidnap him and transport him to Japan. Feng refused to enter Japan and decided to live in the Immigration Hall at Terminal 1 of the Narita Airport in Tokyo, as an act of protest. Feng Zhenghu relied on food gifts from tourists for sustenance and lived at a passageway in the Narita Airport for 92 days. He posted updates on Twitter and garnered widespread media attention from Chinese citizens and international communities. On January 31, Feng announced an end to his protest at the Narita Airport. On February 12, Feng was allowed entry to China, where he reunited with his family in Shanghai. Ai Weiwei and his assistant Gao Yuan traveled from Beijing to interview Feng Zhenghu three times at the Narita Airport of Japan on November 16, November 20, 2009 and January 31, 2010, and documented Feng Zhenghu's life at the airport passageway and the entire process of his return to China. No country should deny entry to its own citizens.

When a truckload of trafficked cats is intercepted by a group of Chinese animal protection activists, further investigation reveals the sickening behind-the-scenes realities of China's underground cat meat trade. Calico Cat is a shocking exposé of how trafficked cats are distributed in a gray market operating throughout China's big cities.

In 2003, the infectious disease SARS quickly spread across China, causing widespread panic. At the peak of the hysteria accompanying the mysterious epidemic, Ai Weiwei and his brother Ai Dan made a short film together, Ai Weiwei's first. The film depicts the defiantly carefree attitude of their bohemian group of friends against the ominous backdrop of the SARS outbreak.