Dreaming of Barbara Hammer

I don’t know how many people have heard of Barbara Hammer. I guess it depends on which generation you were born in and how much time you’ve spent poring over old films.

Barbara Hammer (arguably) made the first lesbian film made by a lesbian. It was called “Dyketactics” (still a great name for a website!) and it was made in 1974, the year I was born. It featured a bunch of nubile women rolling about together in a park with some bizarre pipe music going on in the background. But it was one of the most sensual film watching experiences I can remember having.

Last night I had this weird dream that I was rolling around in the park naked with my girlfriend with this weird pipe music going on. I could still hear the music when I woke up.

It made me wish that film festivals who do retro screenings would seriously make an effort to dig up some of this old footage and show it to a new generation of lesbians. Surely there are a few out there who want to know this stuff, to feel the history of lesbian film making?

All I know is that there have been very few lesbian films made in my lifetime that have inspired my dreams.