Барбара Жан Хаммер: Феминист режиссер және өмір жолы

American filmmaker

Barbara Jean Hammer (May 15, 1939 – March 16, 2019) was an American feminist film director, producer, writer, and cinematographer. She is known for being one of the pioneers of the lesbian film genre, and her career spanned over 50 years. Hammer is known for having created experimental films dealing with women's issues such as gender roles, lesbian relationships, coping with aging, and family life. She resided in New York City and Kerhonkson, New York, and taught each summer at the European Graduate School. Her maternal grandparents were Ukrainian; her grandfather was from Zbarazh. Hammer was raised without religion, but her grandmother was Roman Catholic. In 1961, Hammer graduated with a bachelor's degree in psychology at the University of California, Los Angeles and married Clayton Henry Ward, on the condition that he take her traveling around the world. Her career could be divided into three stages according to her developing focus of work: early career stage (1960s–1970s), mid career stage (1980s–mid 1990s), and late career stage (mid 1990s–2018).

In 2006, Hammer was diagnosed with stage three ovarian cancer. After twelve years of chemotherapy, she fought for the right of self euthanasia. She referenced this in her works, such as her 2009 film A Horse Is Not a Metaphor, in which she expressed the ups and downs of a cancer patient. Through her experience, she became an advocate for the right to die movement and fought for the New York Medical Aid in Dying Act. On October 10, 2018, Hammer presented "The Art of Dying," a performative lecture at the Whitney Museum of Art. Hammer died from endometrioid ovarian cancer on March 16, 2019, at the age of 79. She had been receiving palliative hospice care at the time of her death.