Buildings Remember People

Director and Producer David Shapiro

An unorthodox film about the pitfalls and necessity of re-presenting the Holocaust—mixing essay, humor, verité, and witness testimony—Buildings Remember People interweaves three narratives: an Arizona synagogue built by survivors, a German artist’s ongoing monument, and the 2024 election to interrogate fault lines of memory, fascism, and filmmaking itself.

David Shapiro

Director, Producer

David Shapiro is a celebrated filmmaker and visual artist. David directed, wrote, and produced Untitled Pizza Movie. A cross between a series and a seven-part film, a novel and a documentary, the first three parts premiered at Sundance 2020. The full work screened theatrically at Metrograph to audience and critical acclaim. His award-winning films include Missing People (2015), Keep the River on Your Right (IFC, 2001)–Independent Spirit Award, shortlisted for an Academy Award–and Finishing Heaven (HBO, 2010), for which he received an Emmy nomination. His visual art has been exhibited in numerous galleries and museums, including shows at MoMA and the Brooklyn Museum. David’s work has been profiled on NPR, in The New York Times, The New Yorker, Filmmaker, Art in America, and numerous other publications. His work explores fault lines of filmmaking and memory. David is currently in post-production on a new film, Buildings Remember People.