California-native Barbara Hammer may just be the originator of experimental queer/feminist film. In her 30-year career, she’s made more than 80 films about subjects such as lesbian sexuality, female orgasm, menstruation and now, cancer and hope in A Horse is Not a Metaphor, which premieres at the Frameline International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival this June. Her films Optic Nerve (1985), Endangered (1988) and Nitrate Kisses (1992) were each selected for the Whitney Museum of American Art Biennials in their respective years. In addition to making films, Hammer teaches each summer at the European Graduate School in Saas-Fee, Switzerland. She continues to be inspired by “the numerous, energetic lesbian, queer, transgendered, gay, and intersexed people who have picked up the camera and shared their own visions through the Internet and queer film festivals,” she says. “It’s great to be a grand dame and surviving, thriving pioneer!” –KL

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