Cinema Doc ‘Barbara Forever’ Trailer on Filmmaker Barbara Hammer​

“I want the screen to be tactile.” Strand Releasing has unveiled the official trailer for a documentary film titled Barbara Forever, a unique biopic doc about the life and work of filmmaker Barbara Hammer – an American feminist LGBTQ filmmaker. (She passed away in 2019 at the age of 79.) This first premiered at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival in January, then it also screened at Berlinale, True/False, BFI Flare, and many other fests. A kaleidoscopic exploration of the life, work, and legacy of pioneering lesbian avant-garde filmmaker Barbara Hammer, told through her own voice and footage from many of films. The documentary utilizes a “kinetic tapestry” of archival footage, guided by Barbara Hammer’s own voice, to explore her life, body, lovers, and lesbian identity. It chronicles her persistence and ambition in recording her own history to ensure she was not left out of the historical record, framing her work as a blueprint for future queer artists. I’ve seen this and it’s very good! Especially clever & distinct, and inspiring in its examination of Hammer and her lfie and her art and her creativity and her expression. It’s worth a watch when it hits theaters soon.

Here’s the official trailer (+ poster) for Brydie O’Connor’s doc Barbara Forever, direct from YouTube:

Intro via Berlinale: “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.” More on her.

Barbara Forever is a unique documentary film directed by American indie filmmaker Brydie O’Connor, making her feature directorial debut after many other shorts previously. Produced by Elijah Stevens, Brydie O’Connor, Claire Edelman. Made by Space Time Films & Killer Films. This initially premiered at the 2026 Sundance and Berlin Film Festivals this year. Strand Releasing debuts O’Connor’s Barbara Forever doc in select US theaters starting September 4th, 2026 coming up. Explore more of Hammer’s full filmography.

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