As Time Goes by in Shanghai

Hidden away at the end of Mulholland Drive, just north of Los Angeles, lies the Motion Picture & Television Fund. Its residents were once the backbone of American showbiz. The Fund gives them a home and new meaning in their old age. Still going strong in their own studio, they produce short films and pursue other creative projects. This documentary follows one such project from the first brainstorming session all the way to the premiere, revealing enduring dreams and hopes beyond the limelight — and lessons in life and love.

Under the artistic direction of director Andreas Dresen, 20 renowned documentary filmmakers, experienced television writers, and teams tell stories about the country and its people. The teams filmed at 20 different locations between June and August 2010 under the same production conditions: four days of filming, one week of editing.

They have already lived for a century. They are great women who have turned the world they live in upside down with their female power. And they never tire of making plans for the future. They come from Cuba, Japan, Germany, America and Poland and with their fascinating life stories give a wonderful female perspective to a restless century.

Three Muscovite women taxi-drivers laugh, swear and talk their way through everyday life after Perestroika - life's full of dreams and contradictions.