Jerry Ross Barrish: A Life in Film and Art

December 6–14, 2025

Inspired by BAMPFA’s recent acquisition of three of Jerry Ross Barrish’s films, this series is a wonderful opportunity to reflect on the inspiring accomplishments of one of the Bay Area's local treasures. 

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  • William Farley: Plastic Man: The Artful Life of Jerry Ross Barrish, 2014

  • Jerry Ross Barrish: Shuttlecock, 1989

  • Jerry Ross Barrish: Recent Sorrows, 1984

  • Jerry Ross Barrish: Dan’s Motel, 1981

  • Upcoming
    Films
  • Upcoming
    Events
  • Selected
    Objects
  • Past
    Films
  • Past
    Events

Upcoming Films

  • Plastic Man: The Artful Life of Jerry Ross Barrish

    William Farley
    United States, 2014
    Saturday, December 6, 7 PM
    William Farley, Jerry Ross Barrish, and Janis Plotkin in Conversation

    This “charming look at a singular life and talent” (Dennis Harvey) sculpts together the remarkable life and career of San Francisco’s Jerry Ross Barrish: bail bondsman of radical 1960s protestors, pioneering 1980s independent filmmaker, painter, and sculptor.

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  • Dan’s Motel

    Jerry Ross Barrish
    United States, 1981

    BAMPFA Collection

    Sunday, December 7, 4:30 PM
    Jerry Ross Barrish and Michael Fox in Conversation

    A dead-end oceanside motel provides the windswept setting for this intriguing literary triptych of California dreamers and schemers. Shot on weekends with friends, Jerry Ross Barrish’s debut was accepted into the New Directors/New Films Festival and found a fan in Wim Wenders.

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  • Recent Sorrows

    Jerry Ross Barrish
    United States, 1984

    BAMPFA Collection

    Thursday, December 11, 7 PM
    Jerry Ross Barrish and Kate MacKay in Conversation

    A random meeting between two recently heartbroken men—one straight, one gay—turns fateful in this offbeat deconstruction of toxic relationships. A fascinating glimpse into early 1980s gay San Francisco.

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  • Shuttlecock

    Jerry Ross Barrish
    United States, 1989

    BAMPFA Collection

    Sunday, December 14, 4:30 PM
    Jerry Ross Barrish and Michael Fox in Conversation

    An introverted painter in fogbound Pacifica finds her solitude interrupted by an outgoing comedian in this likably low-key relationship drama, which earned comparisons to Eric Rohmer and Alain Tanner during its 1989 Berlin Film Festival run.

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Past Films