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Barbara Forever

Forum Special 2026
© 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, which 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 yourselves to be touched by this Dyke Poetry!
by Brydie O'Connor (Director)
with Barbara Hammer USA 2026 English 102' Colour International premiere | Debut film | Documentary form

With

  • Barbara Hammer

Crew

Director Brydie O'Connor
Editing Matt Hixon
Music Taul Katz
Sound Design Gisela Fullà Silvestre
Producers Elijah Stevens, Brydie O'Connor, Claire Edelman
Executive Producer Christine Vachon

Produced by

Space Time Films

Brooklyn, USA

Additional information

Right after BARBARA FOREVER, we will screen as a "bonus film" Barbara Hammer's iconic Dyketactics (USA 1974, 4 min, DCP, no dialogue).

Photos

Brydie O'Connor

© Marisa Chafetz

Brydie O’Connor (she/her) is a Kansas-born, New York-based filmmaker. Her work activates archives through queering storytelling structures within the nonfiction space. Brydie’s work has been supported by Frameline, Hot Docs, Cinéma du Réel, New York Foundation for the Arts, and the Stonewall Foundation, and has been presented at the Museum of Modern Art, BFI, and DOC NYC, among other festivals and galleries worldwide. Brydie was selected as the recipient of the Creative Capital State of the Art Prize for New York and the Hulu/Kartemquin Accelerator award (2023).

Filmography

2019 Going Steady; short film 2021 Friends of Dorothy; short film 2022 Love, Barbara; short film 2024 Sasporumpet; short film 2025 The Fault Line; short film · The Roaming Center for Magnetic Alternatives; short film 2026 Barbara Forever

Bio- & filmography as of Berlinale 2026