The Prince of Nanawa

While shooting a documentary about Guaraní, one of Paraguay’s official languages, filmmaker Clarisa Navas talks to people on a busy pedestrian bridge spanning the river that separates Paraguay from Argentina. This no-man’s-land is the setting for shady deals and small-scale smuggling. And it's a region that is regularly hit by extreme heat and flooding.

In the midst of this chaos, Ángel suddenly appears—Ángel Omar Stegmayer Caballero, as he proudly introduces himself—a talkative nine-year-old, wise beyond his years. The filmmakers are struck by the boy and return to visit him on his next birthday. From this point on, they continue to follow him. For Ángel, the camera quickly becomes a familiar companion and witness.

What unfolds is an unpolished, fragmented portrait of a boy growing up in an equally unpolished and marginalized world. Through ups and downs, Ángel finds his way, as family members pass away and new ones are born. On this bumpy road to adulthood, one constant remains in Ángel’s life: the filmmakers.