Papers, Please - The Short Film is an official film adaptation of Lucas Pope’s award-winning game, produced by KINODOM PRODUCTIONS. Its setting is 1982, in East Grestin, Arstotzka, where a six-year war with neighboring Kolechia has ended. The story begins in the uneasy calm that follows conflict, rather than treating the border as an ordinary passage between countries.
A checkpoint now divides East and West Grestin, giving the film’s premise a concrete focus: a newly established border in a place shaped by war and a fragile peace. The source identifies the checkpoint and political setting, but does not detail the film’s individual scenes or characters. Its connection to the game is therefore clearest in the shared title, fictional world and border-control subject.
The short film offers a cinematic take on that premise rather than a game to play. Its distinctive context is the contrast between the war’s end and the barrier that remains, with the checkpoint marking a new division through Grestin. The film is explicitly presented as an adaptation, and its description credits the original game to Lucas Pope.
