Film Fringe & The Leeds Bicycle Film Club join forces for International Women’s Day to bring you the documentary Ovarian Psycos :

Riding at night through streets deemed dangerous in Eastside Los Angeles, the Ovarian Psycos use their bicycles to confront the violence in their lives. At the helm of the crew is founder Xela de la X, a single mother and poet M.C. dedicated to recruiting an unapologetic, misfit crew of women of colour. The film intimately chronicles Xela as she struggles to strike a balance between her activism and nine year old daughter Yoli; street artist Andi who is estranged from her family and journeys to become a leader within the crew; and bright eyed recruit Evie, who despite poverty, and the concerns of her protective Salvadoran mother, discovers a newfound confidence.

Directors Joanna Sokolowski & Kate Trumbull-LaValle commented:

“The story of Ovarian Psycos landed in our laps. We had wanted to make a film together for some time, a film about women, but there was no one story that was jumping out at us. Then we heard about the Ovas.

Like a lot of their fans, we were drawn in by the boldness of their politics, their brazen approach to feminism, and unapologetic aesthetic: a hybrid mix of Chicana, Riot Grrrl, Zapatista and militant-punk cultural markers. With bandanas tied across their faces, throwing up their Ova “hand sign,” and a slogan that can make you both laugh and cry out loud – Ovaries so big we don’t need fucking balls – we were enamored. It took us no time to realize that this was an important moment in time, one that was a clear extension of the legacy of civil rights activism in East Los Angeles, the birthplace of the Chicano Movement, and one that needed to be documented and shared. And a moment in time that echoed the memory of women in history who have fought boldly for racial and gender equality, yet continue to be rendered invisible. The Ovas pay homage to women of the past, and are also clearly reinventing their own hybrid-identity as urban, women of colour feminists.

Our hope is that this film will speak to the same misfit women and girls the Ovas are looking to attract, the ones who don’t feel like they fit in, the ones “at-risk” and under-represented. But we also hope that all folks, both mothers and daughters, and fathers and sons, will catch a glimpse of something authentic and relatable in the stories of Xela, Evie and Andi that will help to expand our collective understanding about gendered politics and race, and conversations about what feminism is and should look like.”

Join us on International Women’s Day for a cracking documentary and a slice of female cycle sub culture from East LA.

This is an additional film that I am involved in screening especially for International Women’s Day.  There will also be a standard Feb and March screening.

Date: Thursday 8 March at 7pm

Venue: The Reliance, 76-78 North Street, Leeds, LS2 7PN

Cost: £5 in advance (tickets can be bought via the Eventbrite link opposite and ticket price includes Eventbrite fee).