Biography
Allison Anders (born November 16, 1954) is an American independent film director whose films include Gas Food Lodging, Mi Vida Loca and Grace of My Heart. Anders has collaborated with fellow UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television graduate Kurt Voss and has also worked as a television director. Anders' films have been shown at the Cannes International Film Festival and at the Sundance Film Festival. She has been awarded a MacArthur Genius Grant as well as a Peabody Award. Description above ...
Known For
Complete Filmography
The Secret Lives of Bill Bartell
2025
as Self
Bill Bartell was a multifaceted individual who traversed the punk rock scene, law enforcement, rodeo riding, and country music. Known for his unique c...
Rock Hudson: All That Heaven Allowed
2023
as Self - Director (voice)
This timely exploration of Hollywood and LGBTQ+ identity examines the life of legendary actor Rock Hudson, from his public "ladies' man" persona to hi...
Only in Theaters
2022
as Self
ONLY IN THEATERS, a film by actor/director Raphael Sbarge, is an intimate and moving journey taken with the Laemmle family, spanning nearly three year...
Michael Des Barres: Who Do You Want Me To Be?
2020
as Self
The son of a junkie aristocrat and a schizophrenic showgirl becomes a master of reinvention on a 50+ year journey through rock and roll, TV, and movie...
Hal
2019
as Self
Hal Ashby's obsessive genius led to an unprecedented string of Oscar®-winning classics, including Harold and Maude, Shampoo and Being There. But as co...
Beaches
2017
Director
Follows the serendipitous meeting of two young girls on the Venice Boardwalk, who, though worlds apart in lifestyle, embark on unexpected and lifelong...
Shirley Clarke: The Artist with the Lens
2016
as Self
A short, Filmstruck-produced documentary on the life of director Shirley Clarke.
I Believe in Unicorns
2015
Executive Producer
Follows the lyrical journey of an imaginative teenage girl who runs away from home with an older punk rock drifter, but not even unicorns can save her...
Ring of Fire
2013
Director
“Ring of Fire” recounts June’s meteoric rise to fame with The Carter Family, considered the First Family of country music, before breaking out on her ...
Strutter
2013
Producer, Director, Writer
A young musician recovers from the loss of his girlfriend with the help of his female filmmaker friend, and even forms a friendship with the rival who...
A Crush on You
2011
Director
When Ben McCauley daringly introduces himself anonymously via email to his secret crush, he mistakenly sends a message to single mother Charley Anders...
American Grindhouse
2011
as Herself
This documentary explores the hidden history of the American Exploitation Film. The movie digs deep into this often overlooked category of U.S. cinema...
Iconoclast
2010
as Herself
Boyd Rice may well be the only person alive who's been on a first name basis with both Charles Manson and Marilyn Manson. His career has spanned more ...
A Tribute to Douglas Sirk by Allison Anders
2009
as Self
Allison Anders talks about her love for the work of film director Douglas Sirk.
Tales from the Script
2009
as Self
Shane Black ("Lethal Weapon"), John Carpenter ("Halloween"), Frank Darabont ("The Shawshank Redemption"), William Goldman ("The Princess Bride"), Paul...
Acting for Douglas Sirk
2008
as Self
The stars and director of 'Written on the Wind' and 'The Tarnished Angels' talk about director Douglas Sirk's techniques. Archival interviews original...
The Pacific and Eddy
2007
Executive Producer
In the wake of a sudden loss, Eddy unexpectedly skips town leaving his friends to mourn for him. A vagabond musician, Eddy runs until there is nowhere...
Wanderlust
2006
as Herself
A look at the mystique of road movies, combining interviews, film clips, music, photography, literature and a narrative storyline featuring Paul Rudd ...
This Film Is Not Yet Rated
2006
as Self - Director of 'Gas - Food - Lodging'
Kirby Dick's provocative documentary investigates the secretive and inconsistent process by which the Motion Picture Association of America rates film...
The Making of Border Radio
2002
as Self
Short documentary about the making of the 1987 film.
Things Behind the Sun
2001
Writer, Director
A young music journalist's dark memories are awakened when he goes to interview a female rock singer, and both are forced to confront troubling secret...
Welcome to Hollywood
2000
as Allison Anders
A film director decides to chart the course of a young actor as he tries to make it in Hollywood...
Sugar Town
1999
Director, Writer
A look at the lives of several struggling L.A. musicians. Gwen, a singer-songwriter, is on a quest for the big-time. Working as an assistant to a fil...
Lover Girl
1997
Executive Producer
Jake is a 16-year-old girl whose mother left her. She finds her older sister Darlene in L.A., but Darlene turns her away. Darlene's neighbor Marci tak...
Grace of My Heart
1996
Director, Writer
Philadelphia teenager Edna Buxton wins a talent contest during the early rock 'n' roll era, changes her name to Denise Waverly and moves to New York C...
Four Rooms
1995
Director, Writer
It's Ted the Bellhop's first night on the job...and the hotel's very unusual guests are about to place him in some outrageous predicaments. It seems t...
Cinefile: Reel Women
1995
as Self
Interviews with women directors working in Hollywood and Europe in the early 1990s, exploring the opportunities and obstacles that face them. A progra...
Quentin Tarantino: Hollywood's Boy Wonder
1994
as Self
A documentary profile on Quentin Tarantino broadcast by the BBC's "Omnibus" strand in 1994 to coincide with "Pulp Fiction" hitting UK cinemas.
Mi Vida Loca
1994
Writer, Director
Mousie and Sad Girl are childhood best friends in a contemporary Los Angeles poor Hispanic neighborhood. But when Sad Girl becomes pregnant by Mousie'...
Made in the USA
1993
as Self
A Paul Joyce documentary on the American independent film scene.
Gas Food Lodging
1992
Director, Screenplay
Nora, a single mother raising two teenage daughters, Shade and Trudi, waits tables at a truck-stop diner in a small New Mexico town. The beautiful and...
Border Radio
1987
Director, Writer
Two musicians and a roadie take money that is owed to them from a job. One flees to Mexico, and everyone has questions.
Paris, Texas
1984
Production Assistant
A man wanders out of the desert not knowing who he is. His brother finds him, and helps to pull his memory back of the life he led before he walked ou...