A new documentary called Sunshine is making waves both among expats in China and audiences at film festivals around the world. Beautifully shot, the short about an advertising exec’s business trip to Shanghai showcases the city in a refreshing way; it’s not all about China’s harried construction boom or the wallet-emptying rise of luxury brands. Sunshine is a stark look at the city as seen through the eyes of a tourist – and it’s a good reminder to all of us who live here (jaded as we can become) what Shanghai looks and feels like from a newcomer’s perspective.
Sunshine from American Buffalo on Vimeo.
The most relatable part of the documentary – to me, anyway – is at 10:02.
“When we travel we want to experience something different. It just feels the same.”
Behind the voiceover, the camera pans across advertisements with Nicole Kidman hawking Omega watches, and the facades of Burger King franchises.
And we couldn’t agree more. It’s almost depressing to go to a new city and find yourself lost in a maze of familiar brands; it’s the very reason we created UnTour. We want to show tourists the Shanghai from their imaginations, the picture they’ve created from videos and pictures that are only decades old, but often seem solidly in the past when you stand in the shadow of a skyscraper bathed in the soft lighting of another Gucci shop. Because it does exist. We promise.
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