Barbara Forever (Brydie O'Connor, 2026) | Brydie O'Connor in person
Columbus Premiere
A sublimely exhilarating exploration of the life, work, and legacy of Barbara Hammer, an iconic, pioneering lesbian filmmaker and longtime friend of the Wex.
Film/Video Theater
Advance ticket sale begins for members August 22—join today!
Tickets available to the general public September 4
$8 members
$12 general public
$9 adults 55 and over
$6 students
Executive produced by Kristen Stewart, this film lifts up the great filmmaker Barbara Hammer as one of the first to put a full lesbian life on screen. Through her own images and words, the film centers Hammer’s raucous life and work, with many clips from her over 80 films and a vast collection of unreleased archival materials. Her films broke taboos about female sexuality, aging, illness, and queer love and define the trope that the personal is political. As her work is inspiring new generations in radical ways, the zest for life, art, and love she conveys through this film will surely inspire viewers too! (102 mins., DCP)
The Wex has a long history of supporting and presenting Hammer’s work. For decades, we’ve helped her make countless films in our Film/Video Studio and have had her present many movies in our theater. This all culminated with the premiere of her ambitious final project, Evidentiary Bodies, an immersive video installation that was presented in 2019 as part of the posthumously presented exhibition Barbara Hammer: In This Body.
A conversation between Brydie O’Connor and Jennifer Lange, director of the Wex's Film/Video Studio, follows the screening.
See the complete Unorthodocs 2026 lineup.
"O’Connor’s film is worthy of its subject matter, faultlessly curated and illuminating in the instrumentation of its material." IndieWire
In the press
- Review: “‘Barbara Forever’ Review: A Loving and Intimate Tribute to a Queer Cinema Legend,” Sam Bodrojan, IndieWire
- Interview: “Barbara Hammer’s Exit Interview,” Masha Gessen, The New Yorker