Paper Boat

Incoming Editorial Team·Verified September 24, 2026

Perahu Kertas (Paper Boat) is a film poem about Atun, the filmmaker's childhood nanny who raised her from birth and became her chosen mother. After decades of domestic work across Indonesia and abroad, Atun now runs a roadside warung in Bali with her husband Mus and members of their extended family. To keep the business and their loved ones afloat, they work tirelessly, allowing themselves just one day off every two weeks. The film is that day off. In Atun’s brief repose from the demands of sustenance, space is made for poetic reflections on care, labour, sacrifice, and a relationship forged beyond blood.