"The interactions with people and the friendships that come from the Shanghai International Film Festival, I'm going to remember it forever."

North Macedonian director Elena Chemerska and Executive Producer Atanas Georgiev spoke with CGTN's Zhang Meng on the red carpet at the 28th Shanghai International Film Festival, where their documentary Ruins had its world premiere in the Golden Goblet documentary competition.

"Shanghai has treated us wonderfully. The city offers so many things; it's just gorgeous," said Chemerska. 

"One of the best festivals I've seen," added Georgiev. "I would really like to continue this tradition, visiting it every year."

They described the film's journey as deeply personal. Shot over nine years, the documentary follows Chemerska's efforts to restore a monument built by her late father, a modernist symbol of collective freedom that had fallen into decay. 

"It's a lot about love, about art, and about the relationship between them," she said. "We had the time of our lives making it."