City planners have decided to pull down parts of Shanghai’s old town in order to regenerate the city. Every year more then one hundred thousand families are forced to leave their homes and move into buildings on the edge of the city. The resulting wreckage is chronicled in the documentary Under Construction by a two- and three- dimensional flight across these now destroyed living areas of Shanghai. This eerily film gives us a bird’s eye view of the true devastation left behind. There are mere remnants of the old inhabitants amongst the destruction and some unfortunate people are forced to live amid the debris, as they have nowhere else to go. With despair they tell stories of injustice, violence and threats. Urban sprawl at any cost? Under Construction exposes just how great the price truly is.


Programmer: Hayet Benkara



Director's Bio

Born in Shanghai, China in 1976. Graduated at the department of painting at the school of Fine Art in Shanghai, at Villa Arson & Le Fresnoy, Studio National in France. Currently he works as a freelance artist.

Production Company Le Fresnoy, Studio National 22 rue du Fresnoy Tourcoing 59200   France Tel.: +33 3 20 28 38 64 Fax: +33 3 20 28 38 99 Email: ntrebik@lefresnoy.net Website: www.lefresnoy.net

Distribution Company Le Fresnoy, Studio National 22 rue du Fresnoy Tourcoing 59200   France Tel.: +33 3 20 28 38 64 Fax: +33 3 20 28 38 99 Email: ntrebik@lefresnoy.net Website: www.lefresnoy.net

Technical Information

Type	:	colour
Dialogue	:	Chinese
Subtitles	:	English
Running Time	:	10 min.
Exhibition Format	:	betacam_sp
Screen Ratio	:	16:9
Sound	:	other

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