Allison Anders

Directing

Allison Anders

Born 1954-11-16 · Ashland, Kentucky, USA

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 from the Wikipedia article Allison Anders, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Acting credits

Welcome to Hollywood poster
4.2

A film director decides to chart the course of a young actor as he tries to make it in Hollywood...

Welcome to Hollywood

2000

Tales from the Script poster
6.6

Shane Black ("Lethal Weapon"), John Carpenter ("Halloween"), Frank Darabont ("The Shawshank Redemption"), William Goldman ("The Princess Bride"), Paul Schrader ("Taxi Driver"), and dozens of other Hollywood screenwriters share hilarious anecdotes and penetrating insights in "Tales from the Script," the most comprehensive documentary ever made about screenwriting. By analyzing their triumphs and recalling their failures, the participants explain how successful writers develop the skills necessary for toughing out careers in one of the world's most competitive industries. They also reveal the untold stories behind some of the greatest screenplays ever written, describing their adventures with luminaries including Harrison Ford, Stanley Kubrick, Joel Silver, Martin Scorsese, and Steven Spielberg. The film was produced in tandem with the upcoming HarperCollins book of the same name.

Tales from the Script

2009

Quentin Tarantino: Hollywood's Boy Wonder poster
6.0

A documentary profile on Quentin Tarantino broadcast by the BBC's "Omnibus" strand in 1994 to coincide with "Pulp Fiction" hitting UK cinemas.

Quentin Tarantino: Hollywood's Boy Wonder

1994

This Film Is Not Yet Rated poster
7.1

Kirby Dick's provocative documentary investigates the secretive and inconsistent process by which the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) rates films, revealing the organization's underhanded efforts to control culture. Dick questions whether certain studios get preferential treatment and exposes the discrepancies in how the MPAA views sex and violence.

This Film Is Not Yet Rated

2006

Only in Theaters poster
4.2

ONLY IN THEATERS, a film by actor/director Raphael Sbarge, is an intimate and moving journey taken with the Laemmle family, spanning nearly three years of challenges, losses, and personal triumphs. Laemmle Theatres, the beloved 84-year-old arthouse cinema chain 3rd generation family business in Los Angeles, is facing seismic change and financial pressure. Yet the family behind this multigenerational business – whose sole mission has been to support the art of film – is determined to survive.

Only in Theaters

2022

The Secret Lives of Bill Bartell poster
NR

Bill Bartell was a multifaceted individual who traversed the punk rock scene, law enforcement, rodeo riding, and country music. Known for his unique contribution to punk rock through his label Gasatanka Records and band White Flag, Bartell's life defies conventional boundaries, blending hyper-masculinity with subcultural rebellion. His story, filled with mysterious and seemingly contradictory roles, offers a compelling narrative about identity, transformation, and the unexpected paths life can take.

The Secret Lives of Bill Bartell

2025

American Grindhouse poster
6.7

This documentary explores the hidden history of the American Exploitation Film. The movie digs deep into this often overlooked category of U.S. cinema and unearths the shameless and occasionally shocking origins of this popular entertainment.

American Grindhouse

2011

Rock Hudson: All That Heaven Allowed poster
5.7

This timely exploration of Hollywood and LGBTQ+ identity examines the life of legendary actor Rock Hudson, from his public "ladies' man" persona to his private life as a gay man.

Rock Hudson: All That Heaven Allowed

2023

Hal poster
6.6

Hal Ashby's obsessive genius led to an unprecedented string of Oscar®-winning classics, including Harold and Maude, Shampoo and Being There. But as contemporaries Coppola, Scorsese and Spielberg rose to blockbuster stardom in the 1980s, Ashby's uncompromising nature played out as a cautionary tale of art versus commerce.

Hal

2019

Wanderlust poster
5.9

A look at the mystique of road movies, combining interviews, film clips, music, photography, literature and a narrative storyline featuring Paul Rudd and Tom McCarthy.

Wanderlust

2006

Sundance 20 poster
10.0

A documentary profiling new generation of filmmakers in this original documentary on the Sundance Institute's Filmmaker's Lab program. An inside look at the Sundance Filmmaker's Lab, which was founded 20 years ago. The chronicle follows three young filmmakers as they grapple with the challenges of filmmaking amidst the breathtaking natural beauty of Northern Utah. Among the many filmmakers and actors discussing their involvement with the Sundance Filmmakers

Sundance 20

2002

Michael Des Barres: Who Do You Want Me To Be? poster
2.0

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 movies.

Michael Des Barres: Who Do You Want Me To Be?

2020

Iconoclast poster
7.3

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 than three decades, during which time he has remained at the epicenter of underground culture and controversy.

Iconoclast

2010

Made in the USA poster
2.0

A Paul Joyce documentary on the American independent film scene.

Made in the USA

1993

No artwork available
NR

Allison Anders talks about her love for the work of film director Douglas Sirk.

A Tribute to Douglas Sirk by Allison Anders

2009

Cinefile: Reel Women poster
NR

Interviews with women directors working in Hollywood and Europe in the early 1990s, exploring the opportunities and obstacles that face them. A program made to accompany a Channel 4 season of films directed and produced by women.

Cinefile: Reel Women

1995

No artwork available
NR

The stars and director of 'Written on the Wind' and 'The Tarnished Angels' talk about director Douglas Sirk's techniques. Archival interviews originally appeared in the documentary "Douglas Sirk: Uber Stars" (Eckhart Schmidt, 1980)

Acting for Douglas Sirk

2008

The One Man Beatles poster
NR

A young director crosses the ocean to find Emitt Rhodes, the mysterious forgotten American pop star from the 1960s/70s, once dubbed as the secret alter ego of Paul McCartney.

The One Man Beatles

2009

No artwork available
NR

Short documentary about the making of the 1987 film.

The Making of Border Radio

2002

Shirley Clarke: The Artist with the Lens poster
NR

A short, Filmstruck-produced documentary on the life of director Shirley Clarke.

Shirley Clarke: The Artist with the Lens

2016

Behind the camera

Four Rooms poster
5.9

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 that this evening's room service is serving up one unbelievable happening after another.

Four Rooms

1995

Four Rooms poster
5.9

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 that this evening's room service is serving up one unbelievable happening after another.

Four Rooms

1995

Mi Vida Loca poster
6.6

Two Indigenous Latina bestfriends, Mousie and Sad Girl live in a contemporary Los Angeles poor Indigenous Hispanic American neighborhood. But when Sad Girl becomes pregnant by Mousie's boyfriend, a drug dealer named Ernesto, the two become bitter enemies. While their dispute escalates towards violence, the violence of the world around them soon also impacts their lives.

Mi Vida Loca

1994

Mi Vida Loca poster
6.6

Two Indigenous Latina bestfriends, Mousie and Sad Girl live in a contemporary Los Angeles poor Indigenous Hispanic American neighborhood. But when Sad Girl becomes pregnant by Mousie's boyfriend, a drug dealer named Ernesto, the two become bitter enemies. While their dispute escalates towards violence, the violence of the world around them soon also impacts their lives.

Mi Vida Loca

1994

Beaches poster
6.1

Follows the serendipitous meeting of two young girls on the Venice Boardwalk, who, though worlds apart in lifestyle, embark on unexpected and lifelong friendship. CC is an aspiring singer trying to make it in Los Angeles. Hillary is the daughter of a prominent civil rights lawyer who struggles to find her own destiny. Their friendship—even with its ups and downs—sustains them for decades.

Beaches

2017

Grace of My Heart poster
6.0

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 City to make it big. Though she flops as a recording artist, fast-talking record producer Joel Millner recognizes her songwriting talent and teams her with struggling songsmith Howard Caszatt.

Grace of My Heart

1996

Grace of My Heart poster
6.0

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 City to make it big. Though she flops as a recording artist, fast-talking record producer Joel Millner recognizes her songwriting talent and teams her with struggling songsmith Howard Caszatt.

Grace of My Heart

1996

Sugar Town poster
4.6

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 film production designer, Gwen tries to steal her boss' boyfriend, a veteran rock producer. The producer, meanwhile, is trying to orchestrate a comeback for an '80s band.

Sugar Town

1999

Sugar Town poster
4.6

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 film production designer, Gwen tries to steal her boss' boyfriend, a veteran rock producer. The producer, meanwhile, is trying to orchestrate a comeback for an '80s band.

Sugar Town

1999

Gas Food Lodging poster
6.3

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 rebellious Trudi drops out of school and gets a job alongside Nora, while the younger Shade whittles away her time at Spanish movie matinees. Their lives are turned upside down when Trudi becomes pregnant and the girls' absent father returns.

Gas Food Lodging

1992

Gas Food Lodging poster
6.3

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 rebellious Trudi drops out of school and gets a job alongside Nora, while the younger Shade whittles away her time at Spanish movie matinees. Their lives are turned upside down when Trudi becomes pregnant and the girls' absent father returns.

Gas Food Lodging

1992

Strutter poster
NR

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 stole her.

Strutter

2013

Strutter poster
NR

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 stole her.

Strutter

2013

Strutter poster
NR

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 stole her.

Strutter

2013

Things Behind the Sun poster
6.0

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 secrets from their pasts.

Things Behind the Sun

2001

Things Behind the Sun poster
6.0

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 secrets from their pasts.

Things Behind the Sun

2001

Border Radio poster
5.6

Two musicians and a roadie take money that is owed to them from a job. One flees to Mexico, and everyone has questions.

Border Radio

1987

Border Radio poster
5.6

Two musicians and a roadie take money that is owed to them from a job. One flees to Mexico, and everyone has questions.

Border Radio

1987

Ring of Fire poster
5.2

“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 own to perform, when she would become a legend in her own right. Taking a personal look at June’s first two marriages, life with her daughters and touching relationship with her son, the movie showcases her infamous courtship with Cash and June’s heroic role in saving his life during his battles with substance abuse, as well as how her unwavering faith in God, confidence and talent has taught lessons to generations.

Ring of Fire

2013

A Crush on You poster
5.7

When Ben McCauley daringly introduces himself anonymously via email to his secret crush, he mistakenly sends a message to single mother Charley Anderson. Ben begins dating Chloe, but she never quite lives up to the e-mail relationship and anonymous friendship he develops with her co-worker Charley.

A Crush on You

2011

No artwork available
NR

A TV movie by Allison Anders (Gas Food Lodging) starring Marcia Gay Harden.

In the Echo

No artwork available
NR

A TV movie by Allison Anders (Gas Food Lodging) starring Marcia Gay Harden.

In the Echo