By Jay Caplan

How often can you encourage world peace by kicking back and watching movies? Pangea Day Shanghai is your chance: a 12-hour movie marathon of short and feature length offerings from local filmmakers, culminating with a 4-hour global simulcast of 24 international short films.

In 2006 filmmaker Jehane Noujaim won a TED Prize: $100,000, and one wish. Noujaim wanted peace, and believed mutual understanding the key to achieving it. Save for travel, film is the best medium to connect people across borders.

Pangea Day is her wish granted: a film event broadcast around the world in seven languages via television, Internet, and mobile phone, featuring the best of 2500+ submissions from over 100 countries.

A slew of celebrity peaceniks like Bob Geldoff will act as hosts and guest speakers at live Pangea Day events in Cairo, Kigali, London, Los Angeles, Mumbai, and Rio de Janeiro.
Dan Shemie thought, why not Shanghai?

“There’s no better place than Shanghai to host an event like this,” says Shemie, Pangea Day Shanghai co-organizer. “Shanghai is an international city. Living here we cross borders every day."

So what can we expect from Pangea Day Shanghai?

“We’ve done everything so you can come hang out, watch movies, and lay around all day,” says Panthea Lee, co-organizer of the event (and former Shanghaiist contributor). “There’s going to be food from Haya’s Mediterranean Cuisine and wine from The Merchant. We’ve set up two screening rooms, plus one for video installation art, and a crawl space with pillows to lie on if you don’t dig the movie in the main room, plus a whole bunch of random wacky shit [like live art by Nial O’Conner for the Shanghai portal of Hitotoki.org].”

Because of scarce film festival-style events in Shanghai, it might be easier to connect with international filmmakers than local ones; the organizers saw Pangea Day as an opportunity to showcase local talent.

“In Shanghai everything’s for export, so there aren’t a lot of chances to go to [see the work of local filmmakers] like in Toronto in or New York,” says Lee. “Here’s a chance for people to see what cool stuff the people around them are getting up to.”

After screenings, filmmakers will be on hand to answer questions and accept drinks.

Local work ranges from documentary to animation covering a wide variety of topics. Pangea Day Shanghai will be held at Shanghai Production Studio (250 Chuanchang Lu near Zhongshan Nan Lu) and runs from 6 pm to 6 am. The global simulcast begins at 2 am. You can check the program and other details at www.myspace.com/pangeadaysh. There’s a lot of buzz over this one, so get there early for films you’re desperate to see. For more info on the international Pangea day, check out http://www.pangeaday.org

Pangea Day Shanghai @ Shanghai Production Studio
Saturday, May 10, 6pm to 6am
250 Chuanchang Lu near Zhongshan Nan Lu