About the film
Story & Character
The Life of Paula examines a day in the life of a working-class immigrant Latina with a taste for the finer things in life. After getting fired from her job, Paula goes from one awkward interaction into the other in a failed attempt to connect with the people in her life.
Style & Influences
The film’s tone is primarily influenced by the cult classic film Withnail and I, and Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, A Confederacy of Dunces, especially in regards to having a story centered around a bitter, obnoxious, yet endearing lead.
Other primary inspirations come from Mike Nichols’ classic The Graduate and the iconic Love and Rockets comic book series by The Hernandez Bros. Both provide funny and eccentric insights into the isolation and disillusionment among California’s young people.
These books and films, amongst countless others, provide the framework from which The Life of Paula finds its voice. Through combined American, European, and Latinx aesthetics, The Life of Paula branches out and grows into something that is both familiar yet unmistakably modern.
About the filmmakers
Michael Vaughn was a Berkeley-based producer who worked primarily in community broadcasting. For eight years, he served as the Director of Education at Berkeley Community Media. His students won two national awards: Best Experimental Film (for an animated VR short) and Best News Coverage of a Rally (for the “Youth Climate Strike”). He worked in media & entertainment for decades and held degrees in Theatre/Broadcasting (B.A) from Columbia College Chicago and an M.A in Education from U.C Berkeley.
This project would not have been possible without his tireless passion and valiant efforts. The film is dedicated to his memory.
Pablo Danilo Rivera is a writer and director based in the San Francisco Bay Area. During his time at San Francisco State University, he worked as an editor, archivist, set designer, sound mixer, and cinematographer. His past clients include the Discovery Channel, the Veteran Documentary Corps., the Mattel Toy Company, the American Conservatory Theater, Oscar-winning producers, and a TIME 100 Influential Person. His goal is to produce weird, exciting independent films that are accessible to a general audience.