Frames of Reference Film Series: Brydie O'Connor

Join the Department of Art & Art History for the Frames of Reference series, an annual program of artists' films and videos. The event is programmed and organized by Jeremy Drummond, associate professor in visual and media arts practice.

Frames of Reference showcases some of the most creative, challenging, thoughtful, and visionary artists working in film, video, and alternative media today. Programs feature artists and artworks that resist conventions and ideologies of mainstream media; explore creative, innovative approaches to narrative and experiments in time-based media; and embrace unique viewpoints, perspectives, or frames of reference. Learn more about the Frames of Reference series. Follow the series on Instagram at frames_of_reference_rva.

The program features film screenings followed by a Q&A with Brydie O'Connor.

Brydie O’Connor is a Kansas-born, NY based filmmaker. Her work activates archives through queering storytelling structures within the nonfiction space. Brydie’s work has been presented at Sundance, Berlinale, BFI, Le Centre Pompidou, and the Museum of Modern Art, among other festivals and museums worldwide. Her debut feature documentary, BARBARA FOREVER, won the Teddy Award for Best Documentary at the 2026 Berlinale and was awarded the Jonathan Oppenheim Editing Award at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival.

Brydie was selected as the recipient of the Creative Capital State of the Art Prize for New York (2026), received the Tom Berman Award for Most Promising Filmmaker at the 64th Ann Arbor Film Festival, a Special Mention for the John Schlesinger Award for a First-Time Filmmaker by the Provincetown Film Society, and was named an honoree for The Maysles Documentary Center's 2026 Albie Awards.

Co-sponsored by the Department of Art & Art History and the School of Arts & Sciences.