The eldest son of Maria Elena, a Raramuri woman from the Tarahumara mountains, is killed when he is run over by a white woman who is declared not responsible for the accident. Maria Elena does not conform to the conventions applied to Raramuri women by the community, and her son’s death is the catalyst for her leaving her community and moving to the city of Chihuahua. Despite her obvious disadvantage, Maria Elena has her own way of ordering the world so as to get on with her life. THE PASSION OF MARIA ELENA is Mercedes Moncada’s opera prima. It has won the following awards: Mayahuel de Oro, Best Film; XVIII Muestra de Cine Mexicano en Guadalajara, México, 2003. / Best Documentary at the Sundance Film Festival, USA, 2003.