Patrick Hamm is an award-winning documentary producer based in Brooklyn, New York. His films combine creative ambition with a clear social focus, and have premiered at festivals including Tribeca, SXSW, Slamdance, and IDFA. His recent work includes Dear Lara (2026) and Who I Am Not (2023). He works on films that examine power, institutions, and accountability, informed by a background in sociology (PhD, Harvard, 2012). He is a Berlinale Talents and EURODOC alumnus and a member of the Producers Guild of America.
Please List the Title of Your Film at BIFF 2026
Dear Lara
What was your first experience with film and how did it influence your first project?
I had access to a video camera as a kid and never gave it back. My father bought one when I was seven. By eight, it was effectively mine. I filmed constantly and made short films with elementary school friends. That habit stayed with me. I became the person who always had a camera, always recording. I also got into photography and spent years collecting and using whatever used equipment I could find. By the time I made my first documentary, I already had a deep, intuitive relationship to the camera, and the instinct to just press record and go for it still shapes how I work today.
Who is (are) your favorite filmmakers?
Louis Theroux
Joshua Oppenheimer
Agnès Varda
David Lynch
What are you working on that no one knows about?
A new documentary that looks at a child safety education program in the United States. It uses that setting to examine what a society chooses to teach children about risk, danger, and responsibility, and what those lessons reveal about the broader culture.
Who would play you in a movie? What’s your go to movie snack? What’s the film title that best describes your life?
Alexander Skarsgård.
Sour Patch Kids.
The Detour Is the Faster Way.
