Maya Deren's Sink

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This evocative tribute to the mother of American avant-garde film calls forth the spirit of one who was larger than life, as recounted by those who knew her. Friends and contemporaries float through Maya Deren’s homes, recalling in tiny bits and pieces words of her architectural and personal interior space. Clips from Deren’s films are projected back into the spaces where they were originally filmed. Fluid light projections of intimate space provide an elusive agency for a filmmaker most of us will never know.

details

  • Runtime

    30 min
  • Country

    United States
  • Year of Presentation

    2025
  • Year of Production

    2010
  • Director

    Barbara Hammer
  • Cast

  • Production Company

  • Berlinale Section

    Forum Expanded
  • Berlinale Category

    Short Film
  • Teddy Award Winner

    Best Short Film

dates of presentation


    1. Arsenal 2


Biography Barbara Hammer


Barbara Hammer was born on May 15, 1939 in Hollywood, California. She is a visual artist working primarily in lm and video and has made over 80 works in a career that spans 30 years. She is considered a pioneer of queer cinema. Her experimental lms of the 1970s often dealt with taboo subjects such as menstruation, female orgasm and lesbian sexuality. In the ’80s she used optical printing to explore perception and the fragility of 16mm lm life itself. Optic Nerve (1985) and Endangered (1988) were selected for the Whitney Museum of American Art Biennials (’85, ’89), Nitrate Kisses (1992) for the 1993 Whitney Biennial. Her documentaries tell the stories of marginalized peoples who have been hidden from history and are often essay lms that are multi-leveled and engage audiences viscerally and intellectually with the goal of activating them to make social change. She lives and works in New York City. Contact: barbarahammer@gmail.com

Filmography Barbara Hammer

1979 Available Space | 1979 Bent Time | 1979 Dream Age | 1986 Snow Job | 1987 No No Nooky T.V. | 1989 Sill Point | 1991 Vital Signs | 1993 Sanctus