Los Angeles-based Colombian and Irish-American filmmaker Kimberly Bautista is a crusader against the violent killing of women, or what she calls "femicide," in Juarez, Mexico, Guatemala and throughout Central America.

That's why it's incomprehensible to learn that Bautista, a voice for those who have been silenced or abused, was held hostage and raped during the culmination of her four-year-journey making the award-winning documentary, Justice For My Sister.

While staying at a house in Guatemala, the 28-year-old a Pasadena, Calif. native, who was born to a Colombian father and Irish-American mother, recalled being held hostage and raped by armed assailants, NBC Latino reported. The filmmaker's camera equipment was also stolen. Since the crime occurred, there hasn't been a resolution to the case, and it's unclear if the perpetrators had targeted her because of her work on the film.

"We were able to identify two suspects, but they were released," Bautista said.

Looking at the bigger picture in an incredibly unselfish way, Bautista "explains this act of violence towards her made her realize her film could be used as a prevention tool and hopefully encourage especially men to take a stand against violence."

"In the process of making this film, we were able to take justice into our own hands in a transformative way," Bautista told NBC Latino.

Sadly, this crime mimics the very type of violence-against-women cases in Central America, which is highlighted in Bautista's film.

Recently, Bautista captured audiences with Justice For My Sister, about a 27-year-old Guatemalan mother of three named Adela who left for work one day and never returned. Her ex-boyfriend beat her until she was unrecognizable and left her at the side of the road.

"Her story is all too familiar in Guatemala, where 6,000 women have been murdered in the last decade. Only 2 percent of those killers have been sentenced," according to the film's official website. "Adela's sister Rebeca, 34, is determined to see that Adela's killer is held accountable. She makes tortillas at home and sells them in order to raise her five children, as well as the three children Adela left behind.

"The challenges Rebeca encounters in her search for justice are illustrative of the thousands of other cases like this one in Guatemala. However, her willingness to practically take on the role of investigator while she is still mourning is exceptional,"the official website adds.

The setbacks and emotional toll it took on Rebecca is evident during her three-year battle -- in the film the challenges include a missing police report, witnesses who are too afraid to testify, and a judge is accused of killing his own wife.

"How can one killer judge another killer?" Rebecca asks in the film.

"Completely transformed by her struggle, Rebeca emerges as a feminist leader in her rural community with a message for others: 'justice is possible,'" NBC Latino adds.

Bautista, who's been credited with starting a movement through Justice For My Sister, was a Princess Grace Award recipient in 2008 and a Latino Producers Academy Fellow in 2010. She was also the recipient of the prestigious yearlong Latino Artists Mentorship from the National Association of Latino Independent Producers (NALIP) in 2010. Baustista also started Texting Peace -- "a program which allows women to report threats or harassment via text message."

In 2006, Kimberly founded and directed the Intercultural Web Exchange, a video pen-pal web program between young women in Quito, Ecuador and young Chicana women in Pomona, California. The project lasted over three years and culminated in a college prep opportunity for the participants. She has been doing media arts work in Guatemala since 2008, looking at the effects of the 36-year internal conflict. Kimberly holds a Master's in Social Documentation from UC Santa Cruz.

Justice For My Sister was a finalist for the 2010 HBO-NALIP Documentary Cash Award in its rough cut state, and appeared at film festivals in both the U.S. and Central America. The film was named the best long-form documentary in Central America as well as in the Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival in October. 

Watch the trailer for Justice For My Sister: