24th BFI London Lesbian & Gay Film Festival: TMC Reviews Barbara Hammer – Making Movies Out of Life & Sex
by Spotted Dick
‘HAMMER! Making Movies Out of Life and Sex’ was a whole lot more than I was expecting. A film screening that mixed up poetry reading, fashion show, inspirational speeches and psyche-searing film this one woman show seemed to cover most things in just a few minutes of footage. The clips we saw managed to fit in sex, loss, relationships of all kinds, confusion and the time-space continuum.
Barbara Hammer
Barbara Hammer, radical lesbian activist film-maker, bounded onto the stage after a brief introduction. Barbara was born just after the great depression in 1939 in Hollywood. She attended UCLA and went on to marry a man on the condition he would take her around the world on a motorcycle. In her early 30s Barbara began creating experimental films and came out as a lesbian after deciding marriage was not for her and that she knew she wanted to be free. Over 30 years later and Hammer is known as the fore-runner in lesbian film-making and a pioneer in lesbian-feminist experimental cinema. Now Barbara has written a book outlining her journey from childhood to present day, describing her films, her art and her loves.
Barbara began by dedicating her book to her partner of 20 years, Florrie and to ‘women artists everywhere’ and read a brief yet powerful poem aloud. The openness with which she expressed her love and emotion for another woman was a breath of fresh air. Immediately the audience knew that this woman did not care who knew, or what they thought and her unadulterated glee in saying the words was really a joy to watch. I found myself smiling, a lot, and as I looked at my neighbours, they all were too.
This unabashed positivity and honesty regarding emotions seems to permeate all of Hammer’s work. As she read excerpts from her book, her rich and interesting story was shared with us all and each film clip she presented was woven into the context of her life whilst she regaled us with anecdotes, history and also wore the same clothes as she wore at the time she was referring to. This involved her dashing into a little black cubicle between clips and as re-emerging changed and revitalised with the audience often clapping and whooping at jump suits, sloganed t-shirts and tight fitting body suits.
Still from Barbara Hammer's Pools
The clips Barbara chose to show us were varied and interesting. She began with ‘Dyketactics’ her first film, where she filmed some of her friends naked, touching and frolicking outdoors, the final footage was cut from over an hour to just a couple of minutes by Hammer as she found the bulk of the images quite dull. The film was gentle and there were a few titters from the audience as folk singer Lisa Ben warbled “Any women can be a les-bi-en” over the top of the footage. “Nitrate kisses” juxtaposed two ideas which Barbara felt had been repressed, sexuality amongst older lesbians and the lesbian and gay suffering in through history. The films shown spanned through her life right up to 2009 which saw Barbara create ‘A horse is not a metaphor’ which captured her own painful struggle with ovarian cancer.
Barbara was a captivating speaker and personality. She beamed happiness and was truly inspirational. In her book she says that she was inspired by her grandmother who proved to her that there are people who do what they want, for their whole lives. I came out of the theatre feeling ashamed of my embarrassment about my life and particularly my sexuality, at work, to my parents, even to my friends. Barbara reaffirmed in myself that I am doing the right thing and making good life choices and that I can continue doing what I like for my whole life as well.
Still from Barbara Hammer's Dyketactics
Hammer spent the time at the end of her show to sign books and chat with all her new fans and friends. The book sold out in about half an hour at the BFI and I would highly recommend it to anyone who needs a boost, inspiration or reaffirmation in their life, because it really is a catalogue of not just her films but of her bravery and devotion towards a life she truly loves.
by Spotted Dick
‘HAMMER! Making Movies Out of Life and Sex’ was a whole lot more than I was expecting. A film screening that mixed up poetry reading, fashion show, inspirational speeches and psyche-searing film this one woman show seemed to cover most things in just a few minutes of footage. The clips we saw managed to fit in sex, loss, relationships of all kinds, confusion and the time-space continuum.
Barbara Hammer, radical lesbian activist film-maker, bounded onto the stage after a brief introduction. Barbara was born just after the great depression in 1939 in Hollywood. She attended UCLA and went on to marry a man on the condition he would take her around the world on a motorcycle. In her early 30s Barbara began creating experimental films and came out as a lesbian after deciding marriage was not for her and that she knew she wanted to be free. Over 30 years later and Hammer is known as the fore-runner in lesbian film-making and a pioneer in lesbian-feminist experimental cinema. Now Barbara has written a book outlining her journey from childhood to present day, describing her films, her art and her loves.
Barbara began by dedicating her book to her partner of 20 years, Florrie and to ‘women artists everywhere’ and read a brief yet powerful poem aloud. The openness with which she expressed her love and emotion for another woman was a breath of fresh air. Immediately the audience knew that this woman did not care who knew, or what they thought and her unadulterated glee in saying the words was really a joy to watch. I found myself smiling, a lot, and as I looked at my neighbours, they all were too.
This unabashed positivity and honesty regarding emotions seems to permeate all of Hammer’s work. As she read excerpts from her book, her rich and interesting story was shared with us all and each film clip she presented was woven into the context of her life whilst she regaled us with anecdotes, history and also wore the same clothes as she wore at the time she was referring to. This involved her dashing into a little black cubicle between clips and as re-emerging changed and revitalised with the audience often clapping and whooping at jump suits, sloganed t-shirts and tight fitting body suits.
The clips Barbara chose to show us were varied and interesting. She began with ‘Dyketactics’ her first film, where she filmed some of her friends naked, touching and frolicking outdoors, the final footage was cut from over an hour to just a couple of minutes by Hammer as she found the bulk of the images quite dull. The film was gentle and there were a few titters from the audience as folk singer Lisa Ben warbled “Any women can be a les-bi-en” over the top of the footage. “Nitrate kisses” juxtaposed two ideas which Barbara felt had been repressed, sexuality amongst older lesbians and the lesbian and gay suffering in through history. The films shown spanned through her life right up to 2009 which saw Barbara create ‘A horse is not a metaphor’ which captured her own painful struggle with ovarian cancer.
Barbara was a captivating speaker and personality. She beamed happiness and was truly inspirational. In her book she says that she was inspired by her grandmother who proved to her that there are people who do what they want, for their whole lives. I came out of the theatre feeling ashamed of my embarrassment about my life and particularly my sexuality, at work, to my parents, even to my friends. Barbara reaffirmed in myself that I am doing the right thing and making good life choices and that I can continue doing what I like for my whole life as well.
Hammer spent the time at the end of her show to sign books and chat with all her new fans and friends. The book sold out in about half an hour at the BFI and I would highly recommend it to anyone who needs a boost, inspiration or reaffirmation in their life, because it really is a catalogue of not just her films but of her bravery and devotion towards a life she truly loves.
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