M on the Bund | Film Premiere

Join Asia Society Australia for the premiere of M on the Bund at Melbourne's Capitol Theatre. Enjoy a screening followed by a Q&A with founder Michelle Garnaut and filmmaker Luo Tong. Experience the legacy of a beloved Shanghai restaurant.

Asia Society Australia is pleased to invite you to the premiere screening of M on the Bund at Melbourne's iconic Capitol Theatre. The screening will be followed by an in-person Q&A with its founder, Michelle Garnaut and filmmaker Luo Tong. 

In late 2021, M on the Bund announced it would be closing its doors after twenty-three years. The restaurant had led a fine-dining renaissance in Shanghai with flare, daring simplicity and a personal touch. Along the way, it built a community of diners and artists, reinvigorated a neighbourhood, and defied the odds to outlive its competitors and imitators. In a city defined by change and rapid reinvention, it had become an institution. 

Over the course of two months, the documentary follows the team behind M on the Bund as they navigate the highs and lows of a restaurant in its final days, uncovering the memories, legacy, and community it leaves in its wake. 

At the heart of the story is Michelle Garnaut, a girl from Melbourne who became a towering figure in China. Straight-talking and driven, she challenged expectations and a male-dominated industry; a self-made woman who made waves with her unique sensibility and eye for business. 

Featuring never-before-seen archive, exclusive behind-the-scenes access, and as-it-happens moments captured in 4K, M on the Bund is a story of food, city, and connection, and of a remarkable journey that reflects the changing geo-politics of the new millennium and a vision of transnational community in challenging times.

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Acknowledgement of Country

RMIT University acknowledges the people of the Woi wurrung and Boon wurrung language groups of the eastern Kulin Nation on whose unceded lands we conduct the business of the University. RMIT University respectfully acknowledges their Ancestors and Elders, past and present. RMIT also acknowledges the Traditional Custodians and their Ancestors of the lands and waters across Australia where we conduct our business - Artwork 'Sentient' by Hollie Johnson, Gunaikurnai and Monero Ngarigo.

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