The Melbourne Cinémathèque presents Queering the Archive: The Cinema of Barbara Hammer, screening at ACMI from October 26 – November 2.

Over a career spanning 50 years and more than 80 moving-image works, American filmmaker and visual artist Barbara Hammer (1939–2019) initiated a new kind of cinema made from a distinctively female and lesbian perspective, challenging the assumptions of mainstream culture and opening a discourse for marginalised groups in society.

The upcoming season pays tribute to a range of Hammer’s eclectic shorts and features from across her career.

The collection of films deals with diverse subject matters including the lesbian experience (Dyketactics, Superdyke, Women I Love), lesbian histories (Nitrate Kisses, The Female Closet, History Lessons, Audience), concepts of time and space (Bent Time, Maya Deren’s Sink), endangered species and artistic forms (Endangered), and ageing and death (A Horse is Not a Metaphor).

The Melbourne Cinémathèque program screens every Wednesday at ACMI. Full and mini memberships are available via ACMI.