Barbara Hammer Biopic Leads Hyperallergic Newsletter Highlights

Hyperallergic's newsletter spotlights a biopic on filmmaker Barbara Hammer, titled "Barbara Forever," described as both a biography and a self-conversation by the late artist. The roundup also features "American Doctor," a documentary following three humanitarian physicians confronting the US-funded genocide in Gaza, reviewed by Rhea Nayyar as an indictment of US leadership and media. Special coverage marks the 15th edition of the BlackStar Film Festival in Philadelphia, including founder Maori Karmael Holmes reflecting on its evolution into a hub for experimental, polyphonic storytelling, and six films on art and resistance covering Anishinaabe repatriation, art historian Dr. Leslie King Hammond, and the Puerto Rican history of the Upper West Side. Critic Eileen G'Sell examines the documentary on activist photographer Misan Harriman, noting its risk of aestheticizing protest movements. Lisa Yin Zhang reviews "I Want Your Sex," calling it a fun caricature of the art world starring Olivia Wilde as a power-hungry artist. From the archive, "Remaining Native" follows a Paiute teenager balancing running with his great-grandfather's escape from an Indigenous residential school.