Hymn To Her: Films by Stan Brakhage & Barbara Hammer

RPM and the Brattle Theatre are thrilled to announce a presentation featuring a collection of six films by avant-garde filmmakers Stan Brakhage and Barbara Hammer. Born as Mary Jane Collom, Jane Wodening (1936 – 2023), a pivotal figure, is featured in numerous films within this series.

Jane Wodening, an American Writer and Naturalist, authored an impressive 14 books and played a pivotal role as a collaborator alongside Experimental Filmmaker Stan Brakhage. The duo, who married in 1957 and later separated in 1987, left an indelible mark on the world of experimental cinema.

Stan Brakhage, known for his lyrical films exploring themes of family, childhood, personal experiences, and mortality, often featured himself and his family as central subjects. The 1959 experimental short film “Window Water Baby Moving” chronicles the birth of their first child. All films will be presented in their original 16mm prints. The first three silent pieces, “Hymn to Her” (1974), “Jane” (1985), and “Window Water Baby Moving” (1959), showcase Brakhage’s early exploration of intimate and familial themes. The program then transitions to two rare sound films by Stan Brakhage, “The Stars are Beautiful” (1974) and “I…Dreaming” (1988).

The screening culminates with Barbara Hammer’s powerful piece, “Jane Brakhage” (1974), which provides a feminist perspective on Jane, absent in Stan’s own work.

Revolutions per Minute Festival (RPM Fest) is dedicated to short-form poetic, personal, experimental film, essay film, animation, documentary, video and audiovisual performance, and is co-hosted by Art and Art History Department and Cinema Studies at UMass-Boston, Brattle Theatre in Cambridge & Harvard FAS CAMLab.