Memory, Freedom and Music Among Themes as Five Documentaries Chase Golden Goblet Glory at Shanghai

Five documentary films are competing for the Golden Goblet Award in the Documentary category at the 28th Shanghai International Film Festival, with the creative teams behind all five nominees gathering for a press meeting.

The five contenders – Spain’s “Benigno,” Chinese production “Notes Unheard,” the North Macedonia-Croatia-Slovenia co-production “Ruins,” Chilean film “The Tiger of the East,” and the Serbia-Croatia-Bulgaria co-production “Wheels of Forgotten Dreams” – range across intimate family chronicles, meditations on personal freedom, artistic odysseys and migrant stories.

The Spanish entry “Benigno” follows an elderly man through the final years of his life, shot on 8mm film. Director David Baute described a deliberate approach to his subject’s dignity. “We constantly reminded ourselves that we were first and foremost engaging with an elderly man, and only secondarily making a film,” Baute said. “Accordingly, we worked with a small team and positioned ourselves as companions to record his life without any intervention.”

“Notes Unheard,” directed by Gu Yun, traces the dynamic between a father and son across several years, with recurring dialogues that illuminate shifting power and affection within their bond. Gu said he chose to leave the film’s conclusion open, allowing audiences to draw their own readings. Producer Ruby Chen noted that the film’s grounding in the rhythms of daily life enables viewers to identify with either figure.

The Balkan co-production “Ruins” follows director Elena Chemerska as she works to restore a monument built by her father, one that carries for its community a vision of collective freedom. Moving between her identity as a visual artist and as her father’s daughter, Chemerska examines what that structure means to the people around it. “Through this film, I hope to convey how we should understand freedom and engage with the world,” she said.

Jorge Acevedo’s “The Tiger of the East” documents Chilean musician Andres Contreras across an eight-year pursuit of a distinctive musical style. Acevedo said the extended shoot transformed the camera’s function from instrument of observation into something closer to companionship. “When I watched the final cut, I felt as though I was seeing an authentic reconstruction of my own life,” Contreras remarked. “The music I searched for, the people I met, and the emotions I experienced on screen … all of them are genuinely real.”

“Wheels of Forgotten Dreams” follows three Serbian truck drivers who relocate to the United States in search of a better life. Director Danilo Lazovic said he steered his approach away from material hardship. “While filming, I did not want to focus excessively on their financial hardship and material struggles,” Lazovic said. “Instead, I centered my work on the resilience they showed at the spiritual and emotional level.” Producer Bojan Kanjera said witnessing Eastern Europeans leave stable careers at home to take up manual labor in the U.S. left a strong impression on him.