Five-year-old Mai is newly arrived from China and placed in a kindergarten classroom in a small, Midwestern town. Carlos is an illegal immigrant living in the United States with his wife and two children. 

A bright and happy child, five-year-old Mai is newly arrived from China and placed in a kindergarten classroom in a small, Midwestern town. Beautifully rendered in 3D animation, “Paper Words” follows Mai as she engages her imagination to keep her company in a strange new world.  Carlos is an illegal immigrant living in the United States with his wife and two children. His decision to leave Mexico, his parents and siblings weighed heavily on him, but he knew that for them to get ahead he would have to leave for America. He was 15 years old at the time. Today, Carlos is 30 and continues sending money home to his family.