THE MAN WHO BUILT SHANGHAI

Directors: Réka Pigniczky and Pierre-Olivier Francois
Under development with co-producer DocDays (Berlin)
Producers: Christian Popp, Barnabás Gerő
Camera: Gergő Kiss
Editor: László Hargittai
Archive Coordinator: Virág Csejdy, Hudec Heritage Project 

László Hudec was a Hungarian architect virtually unknown in Europe but who was one of the most famous architects in China – he’s the man who built Shanghai.

In the 20’s and 30’s, he built over 60 modernist buildings in Shanghai, including the first skyscraper of the East – the Park Hotel, the tallest building in China until 1982.

Our film uses Hudec's buildings as a bridge between yesterday and today – to understand what he, his buildings and the people who live in them have to say about modern Shanghai, and China altogether.

Recently uncovered archives – including 16mm films, photographs and letters by Hudec in the 1920’s and 30’s in China – are a key element of this film. They bring us closer to both our hero and the modern city he helped build.

THE MAN WHO BUILT SHANGHAI is a documentary about how a city and the people living there rediscover the man who built some of its most important buildings – nearly a century ago. In the process, they rediscover and redefine who they are today as part of modern China. 

TRAILER