My Life Without Me

Colour
Spain, Canada, 2002, 100 min
Section: Horizons

About the film

Ann is 23 years old. She married at 17, she has two small children, a husband who is unemployed most of the time, a mother who hates the world and a father who has been in prison for the last ten years… She works nights as a cleaning lady at a university where she’ll never be able to go during the day. She lives in a caravan in her mother’s garden, on the edge of Vancouver. Ann’s existence, however, completely changes its meaning when, after a visit to the doctor, she is given a maximum of three months to live. From this day on, she paradoxically finds a true reason to live her life to the full. “You finally discover that your whole life was just a dream and you wake up…” Without telling anyone about her diagnosis, Ann writes out a list of all the things she wants to get done before she dies. She starts fulfilling these ten commandments immediately: “To tell my daughters several times a day that I love them. To find Don another wife whom the girls would like. To record birthday messages for the girls to play every year of their lives. To visit dad in prison. To say what I think. To make love to other men so I know what it’s like. To have someone fall in love with me…”.

About the director

Isabel Coixet (b. 1960, Barcelona) studied contemporary history. She was artistic director of JWT agency, founder and artistic director of Target  agency and producer for Eddie Saeta. She has received the most prestigious awards for her work in advertising. In 2000 she established the production company Miss Wasabi Films, for which she also directed notable documentaries and video clips. Filmography: Too Old to Die Young (Demasiado viejo para morir joven, 1986), Things I Never Told You (Cosas que nunca te dije, 1995), Those Who I Love (A los que aman, 1998).