Salem Film Fest

Winner of the Teddy Award for Best Documentary/Essay film at this year’s Berlinale, Brydie O’Connor’s film explores the life and films of queer cinema pioneer Barbara Hammer. A longtime friend of WQ and Boston, we are honored to present this cinematic celebration of a filmmaker that was near and dear to all of us. 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. O’Connor weaves a kinetic tapestry with archival footage using Hammer’s own voice as her guide.

A journey to the hypermasculine rodeos of Michoacán state in Mexico delves into the subconscious of memory, queer desire and longing, leading to a reckoning with the wounds and beauty of a home left behind.

Interdisciplinary artist Rashaad Newsome embarks on a journey with a global cast of artists, vogue dancers, and ground-breaking AI to transform a historic military facility in NYC into an Afro-futurist utopia. This once-in-a-lifetime performance captured on screen investigates and re-imagines LGBTQ and Black cultural expression through fresh, decolonized minds.