Vever (for Barbara)

A cross-generational binding of three filmmakers seeking alternative possibilities to power structures they’re inherently part of. The film grew out of abandoned film projects of Maya Deren and Barbara Hammer. Shot at the furthest point of a motorcycle trip Hammer took to Guatemala in 1975, and laced through with Deren’s reflections of failure, encounter and initiation in 1950s Haiti.
A vever is a symbolic drawing used in Haitian Voodoo to invoke a Loa, or god.

As a preview to the retrospective devoted to her at the Jeu de Paume from 2 to 7 April, Deborah Stratman will be offering a screening of the film Vever (For Barbara) in homage to Barbara Hammer and Maya Deren, two figures so important to the affirmation of her work, each in their own way, of a different feminine cinema. Vever (For Barbara), influenced by reflections by Maya Deren’s, was filmed by Barbara Hammer in Guatemala in 1975 and edited by Deborah Stratman in 2019. Deborah Stratman will also be presenting her latest short film, Otherwood.