Through Rittenberg’s extraordinary life, the film offers a rare perspective on twentieth-century Chinese history, tracing the uneasy intersections of personal conviction, political idealism, loyalty, and historical change.

Director Ulrike Ottinger revisits the experiences of six Jewish refugees who found shelter in Shanghai during the Second World War through interviews, photographs, archival materials, and contemporary footage. Moving between past and present, the film traces how exile shapes personal memory while revisiting a lesser-known chapter in the city’s history. One of Germany’s most acclaimed filmmakers, Ulrike Ottinger has long explored travel, cross-cultural encounters, and historical memory across her documentary and fiction work. Exile Shanghai stands as one of the defining works in her documentary career.