I’m Paula Nahr

An experimental filmmaker and social impact producer working at the intersection of cinema, identity, and human vulnerability. Born in Colombia, raised in Aruba, and professionally shaped between the Caribbean, the United States, and Europe, my work is deeply informed by migration, womanhood, and lived experience across cultures. I studied in New York City and spent over a decade producing documentary work focused on urgent social issues, including human trafficking, violence against women, bullying, and youth vulnerability.

In 2011, I founded Switch Foundation in Aruba, a social impact organisation dedicated to using documentary film as a tool for awareness, education, and advocacy. Over more than 10 years, I produced and led multiple documentary projects in collaboration with NGOs, government bodies, and international organisations across the Caribbean and the Americas.

In 2020, I relocated to Edinburgh, Scotland, where I continue to develop my practice through experimental filmmaking, portraiture, and poetic visual storytelling. My current work blends documentary sensibility with an intimate, auteur-driven visual language, exploring themes of women, identity, trauma, and becoming.

I believe in film as a space for connection — a medium capable of holding complexity, healing wounds, and questioning power.

Projects & Practice

Through Switch Foundation, I developed and produced educational documentaries addressing topics such as domestic violence, bullying, youth pregnancy, HIV/AIDS, and human trafficking. These films were intentionally made accessible for communities, schools, and organisations to use freely as educational resources.

The international documentary False Promise (available in English and in Spanish as Falsa Promesa) remains one of the foundation’s most widely requested works, used in screenings, workshops, and awareness campaigns.

As demand grew, I expanded my practice into Nahr Media, a sustainable creative studio focused on documentary filmmaking and digital awareness campaigns for NGOs and public institutions. My role encompassed the full creative and production process — from research and interviews to directing, production, visual language, and campaign strategy.

Following the pandemic, I began developing more personal and experimental work, alongside a forthcoming podcast and written platform dedicated to amplifying the voices of artists, filmmakers, and social changemakers who live with purpose and intention. Today, my practice moves fluidly between documentary, experimental film, and commissioned collaborations — always grounded in social impact, emotional honesty, and a strong visual authorship.