In this article by the Observer, Director Cheryl Haines reveals the impetus for creating Ai Weiwei: Yours Truly:
“We had no intention of making a film,” Haines told Observer. “It wasn’t until Ai Weiwei shared with me the inspiration for ‘Yours Truly,’ which was his father receiving a postcard when they were in exile,” she explained. “It was only at that moment when I felt there was a story to be told.” But it wasn’t only Ai’s story. Haines wanted to investigate how the letters that had been sent as part of the Alcatraz project had impacted the lives of the prisoner recipients, juxtaposing their stories against that of Ai’s upbringing.
