Name: Gustavo Scofano
Country: Brazil
Festival: Festival do Rio, the Rio de Janeiro International Film Festival

How do you like Berlin? What is special about the city for you?

I love Berlin. I’ve been coming to the city since 2008 and it’s one of my favorite places still. It’s a cliché, but the amazing people there really make for an amazing time every year.

How would you describe the Berlinale in one sentence?

Great, very diverse programming, splendid market and some of the best parties on the festival circuit!

In your eyes, what does the TEDDY AWARD symbolize? What does it stand for? What makes it unique?

The award is amazing not only for its capacity of highlighting and giving visibility to films which would not normally get as much screen time, but also because of how pioneering it has always been. The way the award and foundation dialogue with the city’s art and queer scenes and the great web of filmmakers, artists and programmers from all over the world it has amassed over the past decades are also pretty remarkable.

Tell us about a movie you’ve recently seen.

It has to be two! Back in December I watched Konchalovsky’s The Postman’s White Nights, which I had missed earlier in the year and was awestruck. The amount of love and affection that the film shows for its characters is very heart-warming and that, combined with its glacial settings, made it a real experience for me.
The other one was Mike Nichols’ Heartburn. I watched it for the umpteenth time on New Year’s day and it only gets better. It really is the perfect film for me, if such a thing were to exist.