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Barbara Forever

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image caption Barbara Forever © the Estate of Barbara Hammer

Queer Cinema pioneer Barbara Hammer (1939–2019) started making films at the age of 27, coming out as a lesbian in her early 30s: “My life has been lived in film.” The sheer wealth of film material of her life also forms the basis for Barbara Forever, Brydie O’Connor’s debut feature which achieves the mammoth task of doing justice to her dazzling and charismatic personality: a pioneer of lesbian and queer self-representation “in a world where we are invisible”, a seductive lover – and a both experimental and daring filmmaker. Above all this: a lust for life. Through her films, that include Dyketactics (1974), Audience (1982) and Nitrate Kisses (1992), hitherto unseen archive material, Barbara’s narrative voice and with her life partner Florrie Burke as another focal point the temporality of life itself is queered: lots of sex and intimacy, the theory of the cinema of touch, the desire for artistic recognition, her relationship with her mother in an immigrant family and the mission to pass on and share what film does best, not least in view of her illness and dying. Fans, newcomers and returning viewers alike: allow yourself to be touched by this Dyke Poetry!

details

  • Runtime

    102 min

  • Country

    United States

  • Year of Presentation

    2026

  • Year of Production

    2026

  • Director

    Brydie O'Connor

  • Cast

    Barbara Hammer

  • Production Company

    Space Time Films

  • Berlinale Section

    Forum

  • Berlinale Category

    Feature Film

pictures from the movie

Barbara Forever © the Estate of Barbara Hammer

Biography Barbara Hammer


Barbara Hammer was born on May 15, 1939 in Hollywood, California. She is a visual artist working primarily in lm and video and has made over 80 works in a career that spans 30 years. She is considered a pioneer of queer cinema. Her experimental lms of the 1970s often dealt with taboo subjects such as menstruation, female orgasm and lesbian sexuality. In the ’80s she used optical printing to explore perception and the fragility of 16mm lm life itself. Optic Nerve (1985) and Endangered (1988) were selected for the Whitney Museum of American Art Biennials (’85, ’89), Nitrate Kisses (1992) for the 1993 Whitney Biennial. Her documentaries tell the stories of marginalized peoples who have been hidden from history and are often essay lms that are multi-leveled and engage audiences viscerally and intellectually with the goal of activating them to make social change. She lives and works in New York City. Contact: barbarahammer@gmail.com