Ovarian Psycos is about a new generation of fierce, unapologetic and feminist women of color from the Eastside of Los Angeles who confront injustice, build community, and redefine identity through a raucous, irreverently named bicycle crew: The Ovarian Psycos Cycle Brigade.
Through the personal stories of the crew’s rabble-rousing founder, Xela de la X, activist, poet M.C., and single mother; street artist and original Ovarian Psyco, Andi Xoch, and a bright-eyed young woman from the neighborhood, Evelyn (Evie), the film traces how the “Ovas” emerged from the diverse, youthful, Latino, working class, immigrant neighborhoods of Boyle Heights and East Los Angeles, a community situated within the historic legacy of the Chicano/a Civil Rights Movement that emerged from L.A. in the late 1960s.
For members Andi and Evelyn, the Ovas speak to the broken, to the uneducated, and to those who live the hard life. Meanwhile, the pressure to raise a young daughter by herself ultimately puts Xela at a crossroads with her own role in the Ovas. But through all the obstacles they invariably face, the group as a whole becomes a rising force, as these young women continue to call out to new riders to join them on their journey:“Whose streets? Our streets!”
The Filmmakers
Joanna Sokolowski is an Emmy® Award-winning documentary filmmaker. She co-produced the HBO film Very Semi-Serious (2015), a feature-length documentary about New Yorker cartoonists that premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival. She has worked as a producer at Walking Iris Media and Open Studio Productions. Her short film, Still Time (2012), chronicles life after serving 20 years in prison. She holds a BA in Community Development & Urban Planning and received her MA in Social Documentation at the University of California, Santa Cruz, where she was the recipient of the Human Rights Center fellowship.
Kate Trumbull-LaValle is an award-winning independent documentary filmmaker who first began in the field of social justice media as an educator and media maker for the Media Arts Center San Diego and the San Diego Latino Film Festival. She was associate producer and assistant editor for Renee Tajima-Peña’s No Más Bebés (2015), which profiles the history of Latina women coercively sterilized at Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center during the late 1960s and 1970s, and aired on Independent Lens. She directed the short documentary, Abaayo/Sister (2012), an intimate portrait of two Somali friends caught in a cultural tug-of-war and is a UC Berkeley Human Rights Fellow (2010) and graduated with an M.A. from the Social Documentation Program at the University of California, Santa Cruz.
Directed and Produced by
Joanna Sokolowski and Kate Trumbull-LaValle
Executive Producers
Sally Jo Fifer
Lois Vossen
Supervising Producer for ITVS
Shana Swanson
Consulting Producer for ITVS
N’Jeri Eaton
Editor
Victoria Chalk
Additional Editor
Susan Metzger
Director of Photography
Michael Raines
Composer
Jimmy LaValle
Location Sound
Joanna Sokolowski and Kate Trumbull-LaValle
Associate Producer
Ellie Loarca
Motion Graphics and Title Design
Rachel Arnold
“Ovarian Psycos” Logo Designed by
Andi Xoch
Aerial Cinematography
Will Sampson
Camera Rental and Support
27 Notch
Colorist
Andrew Balis
Online Editors
Harry Locke IV
Matt Radecki
Sound Editor and Re-Recording Mixer
Joe Milner
Foley Recorded at
Sound Troop
Finishing Editor
Jim Rosenthal
Assistant Editors
Ciaran Michael Vejby
Natalie Rold
Additional Camera
Beau Lambert
Evelyn Martinez
Mykee Del Mundo
Sage Seb
Mina T. Son
Consulting Editors
Kate Amend
Johanna Demetrakas
Story Consultant
Renee Tajima-Peña
Transcription Services
Lexscribe Inc
Translation
Brenda Avila Hanna
Juan Palacio
Enrique Ramirez
Mayra Eliana Vasquez Jimenez
Outreach Coordinator
Maryna Harrison
Production Assistant
Valerie Medina
Clearance Counsel
Donaldson + Callif, LLP
Legal Counsel
Shannon C. Hensley. Esq.
Insurance
Front Row Insurance Brokers, LLC
Photographers
Karin Kerylow
Michael Raines
Featuring (In Order of Appearance)
The Ovarian Psycos Cycle Brigade
Andi Xoch
Maryann Aguirre a.k.a. "La Fingers"
Joan "Zeta" Zamora
Imelda Romero
Pauletta Pierce
Dalia Palacios
Shamir Castillo
Alejandra Ocasio
Joss the Boss
Karen Díaz
Evelyn (Evie) Martinez
Xela de la X
Mas Vuelo
Moni Perez
Taryn Nicole Randle
Magally "La Maga" Miranda
Claudia Lara
Natalia Efe
Gloria Vasquez
With
Yolihuani N. Tekolokuautli
Maria Isabel Torres
Maria Olvera
Amoxeh Tochtli
Nayeli de la Rosa
Marcello Macias
Maria Luisa Ramirez
Maylei Blackwell
Delia Aguirre
Joseph Bray-Ali
Ren Conde
Archival Footage and Stills Courtesy of
Nico Avina
Rafael Cardenas
Moctesuma Esparza
Cinthia Garcia
Gustavo Muñiz
Tom Myrdal
The Ovarian Psycos Cycle Brigade
Maria Luisa Ramirez
Xela de la X
Bill Yahraus
Additional Archival Sources
ABC Inc., KABC-TV Los Angeles, 2014
Canal Estrella TV, 2011
CBS Local Media, KCAL 9, 2011
Coke Escovedo, Mercury Records, “I Wouldn't Change a Thing," 1976
KABC-TV/DT, 2011
Unknown Photographer, Black and White Photos, ca. 1970s
Music
Cihuatl Ce
Olmeca
El Haru Kuroi
Special Thanks
Nels Bangerter
Kimberly Bautista
S. Leo Chiang
Christine Davila
Alan Del Rio Ortiz
Rian Dundon
Sasha Friedlander
Jen Gilomen
Yu Gu
Gena Hamamoto
Kathy Huang
Courtney Magner
Felicia Montes
Curran Nault
Xochitl Palomera
PJ Raval
B. Ruby Rich
Julie Sauton
George Schmalz
Mike Simpson
Tom and Frances Sokolowski
Clara Solis
Jennifer Taylor
Richard and Sylvia Trumbull
Juli Vizza
Leah Wolchok
Kenji Yamamoto
Fiscal Sponsors
Women Make Movies, Inc.
Media Arts Center San Diego
Funding Provided By
California Humanities
Pacific Pioneer Fund
And others. A complete list available from PBS.
Ovarian Psycos is a co-production of Sylvia Frances Films and the Independent Television Service (ITVS), with funding provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB).