Deadline: Feature-lenght films: Nov. 03, 2021 Short Films: Nov. 17, 2021 Series: Nov 24, 2021
In order to submit a film to the Berlinale, you must send the film and the completed film entry form to the festival within the submission deadline. In any case, please read the general submission conditions and the further instructions for film submission.
For those who want to learn more about our great Special TEDDY award winner JENNI OLSON we have recorded a conversation between her and SHARI FRILOT, Senior programmer at Sundance Film Festival, which is now available on our Vimeo Channel.
SHARI FRILOT in Conversation with JENNI OLSON
JENNI OLSON, film curator, archivist, filmmaker, writer and LGBT film historian was awarded the Special TEDDY AWARD 2021 at the 71st Berlinale for her decades of bridge-building work with which she has made queer film history visible and tangible. Jenni Olsons enthusiasm for the medium of film manifests itself in innumerable ways. She always finds the right instrument with which to put her curiosity and fascination into practice. She fights for the preservation and distribution of cinematic legacies and orphaned film copies, promotes emerging talents and has created her own cinematic oeuvre. She draws on a queer film network she herself has strengthened and expanded over the decades with her collaborations and influence. Jenni Olson embodies, lives and creates queer film culture.
About SHARI FRILOT, senior programmer at Sundance Film Festival, joined the programming team in 1998 and currently focuses on American and World Cinema dramatic features, as well as films that experiment and push the boundaries of conventional storytelling. She is also the curator and driving creative force behind New Frontier at Sundance, a program highlighting work that expands cinema culture through the convergence of film, art and new media technology. As Co-Director of Programming for Outfest from 1998-2001, she founded the Platinum section, which introduced cinematic installation and performance to the festival. From 1993-1996, Frilot served as Festival Director of MIX: The New York Experimental Lesbian & Gay Film Festival. During that time, she also co-founded the first gay Latin American film festivals, MIX BRASIL and MIX MÉXICO. Shari is a filmmaker and recipient of multiple grants from institutions including the Ford Foundation and the Rockefeller Media Arts Foundation. She is a graduate of Harvard/Radcliffe & the Whitney Museum Independent Study Program.
In addition to the awards for current films, the TEDDY Foundation also presents the Special TEDDY AWARD for outstanding achievement and long-term service to a figure from the creative industries whose work has made an exceptional contribution to a wide-scale public perception and reception of queer perspectives in art, culture and the media. Previous winners of the Special TEDDY AWARD include Tilda Swinton, Werner Schroeter, Ulrike Ottinger, Monika Treut, John Hurt, Udo Kier, Christine Vachon, Joe Dallesandro, Evita Bezuidenhout, Rosa von Praunheim and Elfi Mikesch.
This year’s Special TEDDY AWARD goes to the film curator, archivist, filmmaker, writer and LGBT film historian Jenni Olson for her decades of bridge-building work with which she has made queer film history visible and tangible.
Jenni Olson’s enthusiasm for the medium of film manifests itself in innumerable ways. She always finds the right instrument with which to put her curiosity and fascination into practice. She fights for the preservation and distribution of cinematic legacies and orphaned film copies, promotes emerging talents and has created her own cinematic oeuvre. She draws on a queer film network she herself has strengthened and expanded over the decades with her collaborations and influence. Jenni Olson embodies, lives and creates queer film culture.
We are happy to announce this years TEDDY AWARD Jury. This year, three well-known filmmakers and festival organisers will select the winners in the categories of Best Feature Film and Best Short Film from the nominated queer films from the Berlinale, and will present the TEDDY Jury Award.
Sylvie Cachinis a film director whose award-winning films enjoyed success at numerous festivals before she joined Everybody’s Perfect – Geneva International Queer Film Festival as the artistic and general director in 2017. With a university education in art history, history and Italian language and literature (in Switzerland, Rome and Paris) and a master’s degree in film (from Geneva), she has worked in her own company, Lunafilm, as a screenwriter, cinematographer, editor and producer. Driven by a sense of exploration and freedom, she is radically committed to auteur cinema and to queer and feminist gazes. Passionate about experiencing and sharing a wide range of artistic moments, her programming aims at offering a new magic every year.
Samuel Girma, curator in film and art
Samuel Girma is a curator in film and art, a community organizer and an activist based in Stockholm. He is currently undertaking research for an upcoming experimental short film about James Baldwin’s queerness and launching a Black cultural space for film and art. Samuel is a co-founder of the anti-racist, intersectional and feminist platform, Black Queers Sweden. Born and raised in Ethiopia, he emigrated to Sweden at the age of 13, a move that has greatly affected his view on Blackness and the experiences accompanying migration. Much of Samuel’s work, art and writing is inspired by and focuses on the experiences of Black bodies.
Esma Akyel, director of Pink Life QueerFest Turkey
Esma Akyelis a LGBTI+ and transfeminist activist from Turkey. They are the director of Pink Life QueerFest which was established in 2011 and is the first and only queer film festival in Turkey. The festival is organized by the Pink Life LGBTI+ Solidarity Association which is also the first and biggest trans self-organization group in Turkey. Esma is a board member of ERA – LGBTI Equal Rights Association for the Western Balkans and Turkey. They are also one of the curators of QueerFest Berlin. They have a master’s degree in media and visual studies from Bilkent University.
What a wonderfull week! We’ re pretty sad, that all magic of the TEDDY Studio is already ending. If you missed some of our amazing TEDDY Talks, you can watch all of them all on demand! If you want to browse again trough the TEDDY Talks Program of the 35th TEDDY AWARD , you can still find all information about the on our blog.
TEDDY TALKS LIVE from the TEDDY TV Studio
We’re looking forward to the summer! Stay tuned & stay healthy!
Thanks to this years partners and supporters of the TEDDY TALKS
