Introduction: Late Hammer

This introduction to a dossier of short pieces on Barbara Hammer locates the work of the late filmmaker in the context of feminist film culture and the journal Camera Obscura. It briefly reviews several phases of the artist's career before focusing on the output of the last decade of the filmmaker's life. Diagnosed with terminal cancer, Hammer made work dealing with her body; gave footage she shot over the years to several filmmakers to finish as they wished; set up a grant for lesbian experimental filmmakers; and collaborated with curators, archivists, and her partner, Florrie Burke, to shape her own legacy. Pieces by the collaborators who contributed to this dossier are introduced.