One of the most searingly memorable and immersive portraits of an artist in recent years, Brydie O’Connor’s “Barbara Forever” is a kaleidoscopic look at the life, loves, and work of lesbian avant-garde filmmaker Barbara Hammer. Hammer is best known for putting women’s issues (and women’s bodies) front and center in her taboo-busting 16mm experimental films — which doubled as visual essays about her experience coming out later in life, in 1974, and out of a heterosexual marriage. IndieWire called it “a sincere ode to the queer iconoclast. For gay cinephiles, it’s a historic gold mine.”
“Barbara Hammer” won the Jonathan Oppenheim Editing Award out of the 2026 Sundance U.S. Documentary competition, and it’s easy to see why, as this exquisitely assembled, poetic swirl of a movie culls not only from Hammer’s output — but also the outtakes, narrative B-sides, and stolen moments that never before aired in any museum retrospective or theatrical screening of her work. Ahead of the film‘s September release, IndieWire exclusively debuts the trailer for “Barbara Forever” below — and it starts with a laugh-out-loud funny scene in the film in which Hammer tries to explain (and show) experimental film to a classroom of youngsters.
Per the synopsis, the film is “an expansive, immersive exploration of the life, work, and ongoing cultural impact of filmmaker Barbara Hammer — a pioneering artist who lived boldly, created urgently, and transformed cinema through her singular vision. Her films were an extension of herself: sensual, experimental, and unapologetically lesbian, rooted in a profound desire for connection and an insistence on telling her own story. Driven by her canon of over 80 films, a vast collection of unreleased archival materials, and extensive audio interviews, Brydie O’Connor’s portrait allows for Hammer’s voice and images to shine through, becoming both a tribute and an extension of her legacy.”
After Sundance, “Barbara Forever” played the Berlin International Film Festival, where it won the Teddy Award for Best Documentary. It’s produced by Space Time Films with Killer Films and Christine Vachon as executive producer. (Vachon and her producing partner Pamela Koffler broke ground this year as recipients of the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award at the Academy’s upcoming Governors Awards, a lifetime achievement Oscar that’s well-overdue.) O’Connor, Elijah Stevens of Space Time Films, and Claire Edelman of Killer Films produce “Barbara Forever.” The film also counts Kristen Stewart, Dylan Meyer, and Maggie McClean as executive producers through their company Nevermind Pictures.
“Their involvement reflects a dedication to Barbara Hammer’s radical legacy of experimental and inherently political filmmaking that defiantly reshapes the way we look at cinema, queerness, and ourselves,” per Strand Releasing.
“The energy of the trailer mirrors the exuberance of the film — we are so excited for audiences to see this beautiful, immersive movie in the theater,” said Strand’s Marcus Hu.
“Barbara Forever” opens in New York at Film Forum on September 4 before rolling out in cities across North America, including Los Angeles on September 11, and San Francisco on September 18. Read IndieWire’s review of the film here.