Life for Maria is a provocative true story documenting the life of Maria Suarez.
A poor immigrant coming to America for a better life, 16-year old Maria Suarez is sold for just $200 dollars to Anselmo Covarrubias a witch doctor, or brujo who also happens to be a 68-year old pedophile. Maria is repeatedly raped, beaten and brainwashed to believe that she is trapped in the dark world of her captor and his witchcraft until a defining moment on a quiet morning in 1981 that changed everything. On this morning, Covarrubias is brutally murdered to death in his own yard. But instead of finally being free from a life of torture, Maria is sentenced to 25 years to life.
Fast-forward to 22 years in to the future. Maria is still in prison, and her last hope to live in the so-called Land of the Free materializes in the form of a young and passionate law school student who takes on her case. The student fights the California legal system right to the very top, and a movement follows her:
Free Maria.
