Egidijus Zaliapugas

„Every city has his own Shanghai!“ „Shanghai Banzai“– it‘s an ironic short documentary about an old and poor district nearby Vilnius city centre called Snipiskes, which is also known as Shanghai. Film exposes a paradoxical situation where countryside with its multicultural (Lithuanians, Russians, Polish, Gypsies) community exists in the very centre of Vilnius. Also film tries to find out the origin of district’s nickname Shanghai. Film portraits inhabitants of Vilnius Shanghai, who have their own rules, loves, habits and sins. Most of them live in their Past still remembering their youth. Now modern skyscrapers exchange old wooden houses and nobody knows what is waiting for “characters” of Shanghai.

It is a short story about ordinary street guys. Like many others they want to be cool. They want to love, to possess, to survive and to fulfill their ambitions. But will the night streets grant them this chance?