EMMA: LOVE BEYOND BORDERS

Mexican-born Emma Paulsen is married to American citizen, and U.S. Marine, Michael Paulsen, and they have three U.S. born children. Yet their family is forced to endure the devastation, cruelty, and lasting impacts of her sudden deportation, separating them for over thirteen years. Despite her upstanding character, loving marriage to a veteran, and her being without any previous criminal record, Emma is forcibly banned from re-entering the U.S. for more than a decade. We follow the family on their thirteen-year journey to be reunited. The story exposes the injustices of the U.S. immigration policies in its separation of families, the psychological trauma, and the lasting impacts which affect the children in profound, irreversible ways. We also follow the on-going humanitarian crisis of migrants at the border. These stories are intertwined by Emma’s activism, in which she helps other deported mothers and veterans. At the heart of this story is the unwavering bond of love, but we additionally include the invaluable viewpoints and opinions of experts in the field of immigration policy to contextualize and illuminate the issues. Our film humanizes the struggles and contradictions of a legal system which punishes good people for failures which existing policies produce and perpetuate.

Film is currently in production. Estimated completion in 2023.