Based on a true story, La Frontera follows an immigrant mexican mother and son who embark on a dangerous journey through the U.S.-Mexico border in order to achieve a better life. During their journey, the small group of immigrants are detected by Border Control and give chase, causing the mother and son to become separated during the panic.

Awards & Achievements

Minnesota Film Festival
Best Narrative Short Award 2025
Duluth, Minnesota

Intercollegiate Film Festival
Best Animation Award 2025
Best Responsible Filmmaking Award 2025
Minneapolis, Minnesota

Credits

Writter & Director
Paola Guerrero Abrego

Executive Producer
Kristin Solid
Michelle BrostProducer
Chris Gruska
Merit Thursday

Animation
Paola Guerrero AbregoAdditional Animation
Grey Anderson
Kiera Joseph
Breena NeubauerBackground & VFX
Paola Guerrero Abrego

Music
El Moro — Danny Pena
Relajado — CorridoBeatsSound
Paola Guerrero Abrego
Adobe Audition Sound Effects

Special Thanks

Michelle Brost, Kristin Solid, Chris Gruska, Merit Thursday, Katie Nelson, Kiera Joseph, Breena Neubauer, Grey Anderson, Mira Seeba, Audrey Westerberg, Bri Dorsey, Ash Skaggs, Robin Sherbondy, Anabel Jones, & Mcad Peers

The Art of La Frontera

As part of the Senior Project Exhibition at MCAD, I created an art book to showcase all of the work that went into the development of La Frontera. It contains all aspects of production, starting from initial concepts and sketches to the technical steps used for each stage of production. A physical copy was made specifically for the exhibition, which includes an exclusive page where readers could write special notes about the film.A closer look at each art piece is available to view on the Development section.

la frontera — full film

Background Art

The environment design is an essential part of the film, acting as another storytelling tool. The backgrounds were originally going to be oil painted, however, early concepts did not meet the vision I wanted, thus the backgrounds pivoted to digital paintings which allowed for more control during the compositing stage of production.Color was the most important element when developing the environment design, utilizing theory to amplify various moments in the film. Yellow, blue, and purple comprised the main color palette for the cast of characters and environment, slowly progressing from warm to cold, depicting the passage of time as well as emphasizing the fear and panic that escalates throughout the film.

3D Models

To ensure the environment was consistent, free 3D models had been utilized to construct the sets for the film. This allowed for more versatility in camera choreography and consistency between shots. It also acted as a reference for light staging for various scenes, namely in the 3rd act of the film. Once the camera composition had been finalized, the 3D models were then painted over in 2D software from images taken from the sets.

Concept Sketches

Film Background Art

Development

La Frontera was created as my Senior Thesis Film during my final year at Minneapolis College of Art and Design. Serving as the culmination of my skills and knowledge gained during my time at MCAD, I created this film to highlight my strengths as an animator and writer. Storytelling has been my passion and this film allowed me to demonstrate that.Exploration was key for the production of this film. This section showcases the work that went into the film's development—from early concept sketches to the final stages of compositing, you will find an in-depth close look of the production.

Storyboards

Character Sheets

Production

The production of the film spanned eight months nonconsecutively and was worked in four equal parts: Early development, Pre-Production, Animation, & Compositing/Editing.Early development consisted of experimenting with various concepts for characters, boards, and background art before becoming finalized for preproduction.Preproduction consisted of preparing materials for animation, such as creating final character sheets and final animatic. This stage is the foundation for the rest of the production as it is the blueprint for the entire film.Animation lasted a total of five months, with rough animation going through various passes. As this film's style is lineless, cleanup and coloring were done simultaneously, only lasting a total of two months before moving on to compositing. Background work was worked on intermittently between each phases of production.Compositing took a month to complete, adding necessary depth and realism to the animation, essentially giving life to the work. Final edits such as the score and sound effects were the last to be completed before the film was due for the showcase.

Exhibition

An important aspect of the film that had to be cut was that the backgrounds were to be oil painted, however early attempts did yield the results I wanted.Painting had become a medium that I had grown to love during my time at MCAD, and I wanted to incorporate it into the film in some way.When it came to creating the film poster, it allowed me to revisit such an idea by painting oil on canvas.Only the credits were done digitally, everything else was painted.

La Frontera exhibited at MCAD's Senior Showcase, displaying early concept paintings and final art pieces. The physical copy of the art book was included as well as various videos showing the progress of the film.

Paola Guerrero Abrego, a first-generation Mexican-American, is a storyboard artist and 2D animator from the Twin Cities. They have recently earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Animation at Minneapolis College of Art and Design.Storytelling is the main focus of her work, developing and exploring narratives and themes ranging from the fantastical to real-life issues through world-building and character-driven narratives. Her goal is to bring new and unique experiences into the world of animation through her work to help diversify and inspire young POC artists. Her work explores various forms of media, such as animation, storyboard animatics, and comics.Her short animated film La Frontera was awarded Best Short Narrative Film by the Minnesota Film Festival in March 2025, as well as awarded Best Animation & Best Responsible Filmmaking award by the Intercollegiate Film Festival.Interested in working together on a project? Don’t hesitate to reach out, click on the email icon at the bottom of the page. Thank you!