Allison Anders - Early Life

Early Life

As a child, Anders experienced many troubles that has greatly influenced her films now. When she was 4 years old, her father abandoned her, her mother, and four sisters. At the age of 12, she was raped by her step-father after already having endured his physical abuse. At one point her step-father threatened her with a gun. After her mother moved her and her sisters to Los Angeles to escape further abuse, Anders suffered a mental breakdown at the age of 15. When she came out of the psychiatric ward, she was placed into foster care but instead she ran from home and began hitch hiking across the country, an adventure mostly ending with jail. After turning 17, Anders dropped out of high school in Los Angeles and moved back to Kentucky and later on moved to London with the man who fathered her first child. In her early 20's she moved back to Los Angeles with her daughter and attended junior college while doing several odd jobs. With her life and education back on track, Anders prepared her requirements in order to apply for UCLA Film School.

Due to her constant relocation as a child, Anders was unable to receive a steady education. Instead, most of her time was spent watching TV and going to movie theaters. At first, she was unaware of the filming business. Television and movies were a mere form of entertainment. It wasn't until her early 20's when she began watching Wim Wenders films, that she realized film was a business she saw a future with. His style of filming and the pace of his movies inspired her. She noticed that the scenes took their time and not a lot had to be said. Wender's work seemed very natural to him and made Anders feel as if the movies were real life, giving her the inspiration and drive she needed to finally apply for Film School at UCLA. Her real confirmation in her career choice came after her first production. During her studies at UCLA, Anders produced her first little super-8 16-millimeter sound movie. Her classmates and teachers were to watch it and give her criticism. Even Wenders attended the screening. In an interview with PBS Frontline, she expresses her anxiety at the thought of having to stand in the front of the class and take in the criticism. But after realizing she was not scared, she says to herself "You know what? I don't care. I don't care if nobody likes it. I really like this movie." From then on, Anders had full confidence in her career path.