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Barbara Hammer Interview (Maya Deren’s Sink)

Barbara Hammer

Barbara Hammer is a legend of experimental cinema, creating bold and affecting works on a wealth of subjects, including feminism, lesbian cinema, queer and hidden history, the body, art in the context of war, mortality and much more. Beginning in the 1970s, Barbara’s work has consistently grown in scope and stature, including the avant-garde classics: Dyketactics, Sanctus, Nitrate Kisses, Tender Fictions, History Lessons and Resisting Paradise.

Barbara was in Toronto for a comprehensive programme of her work, presented by the Toronto International Film Festival, the Canadian Filmmakers Distribution Centre and the Images Festival. Barbara’s introductions and Q&A’s are lively affairs and our interview with her was no different, speaking candidly as ever about her career, her book Hammer!, and most importantly, what she’s currently working on.

 

 

This interview was released in June 2013.

Lead photo by MoMA.

By Christopher Heron

Christopher Heron is one of the co-founders of The Seventh Art. He's conducted over 60 long-form interviews for the publication, and his written work includes numerous video essays, investigating formal traits in films and filmmakers. He received his MA in Cinema Studies from the University of Toronto, where his work explored cinematic representations of urban space with special attention paid to the films of Pedro Costa and Tsai Ming-liang.