Private Project

Paper Boats

Why can’t Rahel bring herself to sign her artwork? The visit of her high school academic advisor triggers memories of why she is haunted by her surname, yet she would not consider changing it.

  • Gonzalo Guajardo-Fajardo
    Director
  • Gonzalo Guajardo-Fajardo
    Writer
  • Abezash Tamerat
    Writer
  • Gonzalo Guajardo-Fajardo
    Producer
  • Helana Papayanopulos
    Producer
  • Bakyt Zhumadilova
    Producer
  • Semenesh Chesa
    Key Cast
    "Rahel"
  • Samuel Ghebreselassie
    Key Cast
    "Tesfaye (father)"
  • Merone Misiker
    Key Cast
    "Kalkidan (sister)"
  • Briana Stoakley
    Key Cast
    "Miss Simons (Academic advisor)"
  • Samrawit Kefale-Mareye
    Key Cast
    "Mariam (mother)"
  • Maric Yates
    Key Cast
    "School Principal"
  • Dylan Boland
    Key Cast
    "Police Officer"
  • Project Type:
    Short, Student
  • Genres:
    Drama
  • Runtime:
    15 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    September 15, 2019
  • Production Budget:
    18,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    Ethiopia, United States
  • Language:
    Amharic, English
  • Shooting Format:
    RED
  • Aspect Ratio:
    2.39:1
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    Yes
  • The Valley Film Festival
    Los Angeles,
    United States
    September 26, 2019
    North American Premiere
    Audience Award
  • Reel Sisters of The Diaspora Film Festival
    New York, NY
    United States
    October 19, 2019
    East Coast Premiere
    Best Screenplay Award
  • Ridgway Independent Film Festival
    Ridgway, Colorado
    United States
    November 8, 2019
    People's Choice Award
  • Seville European Film Festival
    Seville
    Spain
    November 13, 2019
    European Premiere
    Panorama Andaluz - Official Selection
  • Hollywood Music in Media Awards
    Los Angeles, CA
    United States
    November 20, 2019
    Best Short Original Soundtrack Award
  • Pan African Film & Arts Festival
    Los Angeles, CA
    United States
    February 18, 2020
Director Biography - Gonzalo Guajardo-Fajardo

Gonzalo Guajardo grew up filming crazy shorts with his friends in the backyard of his home in Seville, Spain. He always knew that this was his true vocation. He enrolled in Audiovisual Communications & Liberal Arts, and continued his learning process in the US and Central Europe.

In the summer of 2008, a trip to Ethiopia changed his life: He would never look back. He learned to speak Amharic, worked as a teacher, founded the humanitarian NGO VIHVE, and has been hired for myriad jobs for important worldwide channels and agencies, such as CNN, USAID, CCTV, MOVISTAR 0+, AFP, TV5Monde, and NHK, among others. He has published two collective fiction books and has recently been awarded for two short documentaries, which are still on the festival run.

He holds a Master’s Degree in Documentary Photography from the University of Seville and a Master’s Degree in Filmmaking from the New York Film Academy in Los Angeles, completing the latter as a full beneficiary of the Spanish Talentia Scholarships. “Paper Boats” is his thesis film, produced in the Summer of 2019.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

Paper Boats is a drama based on a few episodes of the memoir “How Long Can a Paper Boat Float?” by Abezash Tamerat. Reading the manuscript, I instantly knew a movie had to be made. The draft was touching, well written, cinematic, and brought a new approach to themes such as justice, love, hate, and identity.

The story unfolds both in the US and Ethiopia between the 1980s and today, depicting the struggles, defeats and triumphs of the main character during her childhood in Ethiopia, her departure to the US, dramatic events as a teenager, life with a new family and trip back to Ethiopia.

We knew that the adaptation would be challenging, but we believed that it was a story that needed to be shared. The process took an emotional toll on both of us, bringing us to seek professional therapy. Today, we both agree it has been worth it both for the movie and for our relationship.

Paper Boats is the tale of someone who lost her childhood and tries to find her place in the world. It’s a story of love conquering hatred against all the odds.