From the remote villages of Laos to the world stage at the 27th Shanghai International Film Festival, "The Guardian of Stories" carries an urgent cultural mission. Italian directors Claudia Bellasi and Markus Steiner Ender spent years documenting Laos' last generation of traditional storytellers – elders who safeguard centuries of oral history. "We poured our hearts and souls into this film, alongside our incredible Laotian friends," they told CGTN's Zhang Meng.

This Golden Goblet-nominated documentary features collaborations with Laotian communities, with the aim of preserving their folktales through film. As the directors note: "These stories can connect people, and maybe someday in the future we can have a co-production between China and Italy."