In the 1950's, when Paulina was a child in a rural Mexican village, her parents traded her away for land rights. The villagers ostracized her and the town boss raped her, keeping her as his unwilling mistress throughout much of her adolescence. At 15, she took control of her destiny and escaped to Mexico City to begin a new life.

Now middle-aged, Paulina returns to her village to confront her family about what happened and encounters a web of intrigue and denial. PAULINA interweaves documentary and fiction styles to explore the characters' radically different perspectives and memories, and those of this vital, resilient woman.

"PAULINA was ten years in the making, but its passion and energy are fresh...blending real-life and re-enactment footage with dazzling virtuosity...a favorite at the Sundance Film Festival, it has a magical glow."—San Francisco Chronicle

"A remarkable documentary... simultaneously devastating and inspiring... assured, intelligent filmmaking... a testament to what the human spirit can endure and rise above."—New York Times

"PAULINA ranks as an important study of gender and class politics, and as a powerful reminder that even the most seemingly humdrum life is significant."—Time Out New York

"A great visual invention... A chilling view of sexual expropriation and family betrayal, and one which we have never seen before."—San Francisco Bay Guardian