M on the Bund Documentary: Crowdfunding Launch Announcement

By Ned Kelly, October 17, 2023

The makers of the upcoming independent documentary M On The Bund have launched a crowdfunding campaign from today, October 17, to raise funds towards completion. The campaign will run for 30 days on Kickstarter and Modian.

M On The Bund takes you behind the scenes of an extraordinary restaurant that sat at the heart of Shanghai for 23 years. Experience the food, the glamour and the community, and witness the changing of a city at the turn of the millennium.

There are some fantastic rewards up for grabs, including a chance to get your name in the credits, limited edition mementos from M on the Bund, and a chance to see the finished film before everyone else. All you have to do is go to the crowdfunding pages and pledge your support.

M On The Bund is produced by the award-winning team behind the acclaimed documentary The Six, which told the incredible story of the Chinese survivors of RMS Titanic, and executive produced by legendary filmmaker Christopher Doyle.

About the Film

This is a story about a girl from Melbourne who, against the odds, became one of the most influential restaurateurs in China. And it’s a story of a community and a city undergoing extraordinary change towards the future.

Michelle Garnaut opened M on the Bund in Shanghai in 1999. It was a revelation, reinventing fine dining and helping to revive a neighborhood.

Everyone came to eat there. It was a place where celebrities and world leaders sat table to table with families and friends, under the cross-river glow of the downtown skyline.

But M on the Bund was always more than just a restaurant. It hosted literary festivals and concerts, supported young artists, writers, musicians, and became a space where people from around China and across the world could come together.

It is no exaggeration to say that it reshaped Shanghai, building a whole community of people, glamour and ideas.

The story of M on the Bund parallels that of Shanghai, which by 1999 was rapidly reinventing itself as China’s global city for the 21st century.

The restaurant became an unlikely symbol of this new, dynamic era, reflecting the changing geo-politics of the new millennium, and promoting a belief in the transnational community during challenging times.

What's the Crowdfunder For?

The producers have been working hard on this film for over a year now, and it’s almost done. But they need your help to carry it over the finish line.

The story follows Michelle from 60s Melbourne to 80s Hong Kong to 90s Shanghai and beyond. They even dive back in time a hundred years to see how Shanghai has changed since the 1920s.

To bring that journey to life, the film is jam-packed with amazing archive materials, including rarely seen images.

By supporting, you’ll be helping to cover the costs of using these archive materials and enrich the story. That’s the target.

This is a story of connection, of people from around the world coming together to share a meal, a drink, and dialogue. We want to spread its message far and wide.

Give what you can, and share the campaign.