Mi vida loca

Sad Girl and Mousie grew up in the rough neighbourhood of Echo Park in Los Angeles. Gangfights and robbery are part of everyday life, but the two friends have always stuck together; they are in the same class at school, they belong to the same gang, they even get pregnant at the same time. Their friendship is put to the test though, when they discover that they both have had children by the same man, Enrico.

COMMENTARY
My personal and social intention in telling each story I film is to humanize those people in our society who are feared, ignored, disregarded or humiliated by their lack of power and resources. Usually these people are from impoverished communities and from violent or otherwise abusive childhoods. This is where I come from, and it is a stigma I was very fortunate to overcome. I don't believe change is possible in an individual's life if you feel invisible in your society. One of the most powerful ways to validate the inner lives of the lowerclass is to show them on the big screen.
When I first saw the gang girls of Echo Park who would become the subject and actresses in Mi Vida Loca, I was intimidated by their walk, ''their mad-dogging'' stares, their confidence. I was so compelled, ''what was going on there'', inside each one of them. Like everyone else, the first thing I thought of when I regarded them was violence and guns, and drive-by shootings. But in talking to them, one of the first surprises was how little the violence of their lives motivated their thoughts and feelings. They were motivated by all the same
things everyone else is: friendship, love for family and children, economic survival, and romance. The violence we hear so much about comes from a cycle of neglect and they feel it is their only resource for righting the wrongs with their community. For this reason, I chose to keep the violence offscreen. Because what is far more important to me and the everyday lives of these kids are the effects of the violence. To me, it's the shame, and the tortured feelings surrounding a life of abuse and violence which is the real hardcore story, not the violence itself.
As I came to know these kids and respect them and love them, I wanted the world to know them too. But more importantly, I wanted people who see my film to think twice when they see these ''cholas'', these gangbangers of the streets ... Really see them. And wonder what's going on there. ':'
Allison Anders