All posts by chloe

News 2015, Teddy 2015

MEET THE JURY : MUFFIN HIX

February 5, 2015 chloe Leave a comment

Name: Muffin Hix
Country: USA
Festivals: BFI Flare London LGBT Film Festival, Fringe! Queer Film & Arts Festival

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

I’ve only ever been to Berlin in the Winter – I really must get here in the Summer sometime to really experience the city! But even with a mad festival schedule, and the freezing cold, I always find ways of exploring the city’s little corners, galleries and the revolving nightlife. What is that bar with pink fur covering the walls? I remember walking in there for the first time and thinking “YES!”

How would you describe the Berlinale in one sentence?

The Berlinale is the big, wintry bear hug in the festival year where you’re as likely to catch up with old friends as you are to see your film of the year.

What was your first encounter with the TEDDY AWARD?

I first started following the TEDDY in 2010, and then really got to see what it was all about when I came to the Berlinale for the first time in 2011. Traveling with this little tribe around all the screenings and joining in with the queer programmers meeting – it gave me an instant home within the Berlinale, which can be a little (a lot) intimidating the first time.

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

The TEDDY AWARD is a means to support and recognize the artistry and courage in these films that capture the personal and political of the LGBTQIA experience in our world. It’s about acting on what’s happening right now and not losing our (once so elusive) queer heritage. The films that we’ll get to see will go from here, from this recognition of even being acknowledged, all over the world. The TEDDY AWARD can be such a powerful symbol of acceptance and importance that can change the lives of the filmmakers, but most of all, can reach millions of others out there. And being part of this jury is equally important for us. It says that we’re on the right track to doing something important in our communities.

Tell us about a movie you’ve recently seen.

Sometimes when you’re programming, you just watch so many films on a tiny screen with your headphones that it’s hard to actually go to the cinema with friends and see a film in a wholly indulgent way. But it is so important – it’s that coming together in the dark to be totally transported into another world that makes cinema so magical.

Last week I went to one of my favorite East London cinemas, the Genesis, and saw Whiplash. The cinema has a small screen just full of big comfy sofas – it’s such a luxury to get tucked up and see a film that keeps you gripped (laughing, crying, screaming!) from start to finish. If anyone had tried to convince me that watching the training of a young jazz student would keep me on the edge of my seat, I would never have believed them. But I’m a convert now!

News 2015, Teddy 2015

MEET THE JURY : DIEGO TREROTOLA

February 4, 2015 chloe Leave a comment

Name: Diego Trerotola
Country: Argentina
Festival: LGBTIQ Film Festival Asterisco

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

Cinema is a my first map of the world, that’s why Berlin is, to me, a bunch of images from R. W. Fassbinder and Rosa von Praunheim and, above all, it’s Emil Jannings and his (my) uniform fetish through the eyes of F. W. Murnau in Der letzte Mann (1924). Big cities are great illusions, and Berlin gave that to me the first time I went there in 2010.

How would you describe the Berlinale in one sentence?

Huge, challenging, eccentric, but mostly fierce, bright and tender like a Golden Bear.

What was your first encounter with the TEDDY AWARD?

When I became a film critic in Buenos Aires, in the early 90s, I discovered the rise of the New Queer Cinema and the TEDDY at the same time. Todd Haynes’ Poison and Rose Troche’s Go Fish were my two ways of confirming the power of the TEDDY AWARD at that time.

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

The TEDDY is a quest for a different perspective in contemporary cinema as well as the meeting point for people related to world cinema and sexual and gender diversity. As a film festival programmer, it’s also a big influence, because the selection is always top-notch. On a personal level, the award’s logo, the bear drawing by Ralph König, is very hot, because of my erotic bear sensibility!

Tell us about a movie you’ve recently seen.

I discovered a new Susan Sontag in a documentary about her: a portrait of a great writer and filmmaker as well as a community of desire, literature and cinema during the late fifties and the sixties. Sontag was challenging the boundaries of her time with great, innovative views on culture, especially queer culture.

News 2015, Teddy 2015

MEET THE JURY: GUSTAVO SCOFANO

February 3, 2015 chloe Leave a comment

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.

News 2015, Teddy 2015

MEET THE JURY : BRADLEY FORTUIN

February 1, 2015 chloe Leave a comment

Name: Bradley Fortuin
Country: Namibia
Festival: Batho Ba Lorato Film Festival

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

Berlin is a very beautiful city filled with beautiful people and extraordinary places and sights. It’s richness in history, art, fashion and even its advanced technology – which I love and admire – sets it apart from all other major world cities.

How would you describe the Berlinale in one sentence?

Berlinale in one sentence! A amazingly great platform that helps to uplift and recognize amazing and well deserved talent and that changes the world as well!

What was your first encounter with the TEDDY AWARD?

My first encounter with the TEDDY AWARD was on YouTube after reading about it in a magazine and it’s always been a dream to attend it.

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

The TEDDY AWARD to me is like voice for the voiceless. It helps to change people’s lives and inspires them to do and be better not only at their craft but also as an individual human being. It celebrates the LGBTI community and creates awareness and also educates which is what I love. It brings people from all over the world and from different backgrounds together as one big happy family and just like a teddy bear it makes one feel warm, fuzzy and welcoming.

Tell us about a movie you’ve recently seen.

The latest movie I watched is The Book Thief directed by Brian Percival, which I found extraordinary engaging and extremely moving. Well written and directed.

News 2015, Teddy 2015

MEET THE JURY: NICK DEOCAMPO

January 31, 2015 chloe Leave a comment

Name: Nick Deocampo
Country: Philippines
Festival: Quezon City International Pink Film Festival

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

I have been to Berlin several times. In fact Berlin was the first city I visited after my film schooling in Paris in 1983 in order to attend the Berlin Film Festival, my first international film festival. The festival’s location was still at the old city center, not where it is now. Since then I have visited the festival several times, including judging for the NETPAC award for the Best Asian Film in 2001. Among the European cities, Berlin has been like a “second home” for me. What makes it special is the high cinematic culture I always encounter. The high regard for all sorts of cinematic forms is what I admire most. This is where I was exposed to alternative and radical filmmaking and LGBT cinema. There was so much I learned from meeting filmmakers and festival organizers. Also there are a lot of venues where I can encounter film culture. Each time I am in Berlin, I visit the film museum and also the bookstores to look for books to buy.

How would you describe the Berlinale in one sentence?

The Berlinale is a crossroads for all film interests that gets people passionate for films to gather.

What was your first encounter with the TEDDY AWARD?

It was when a Filipino film, Ang Lalaki sa Buhay ni Selya (The Man in the Life of Selya) won the TEDDY AWARD, that’s when I first heard about the TEDDY.

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

It’s unique because it gives recognition to LGBT films in a major league festival. Not many festivals do so. Its courage to stand up for filmmakers with alternative sexual orientation expands the borders of filmic expression. For filmmakers who are also film programmers like myself, there is so much to learn from the creative as well as organizational planning that go into organizing events like this.

Tell us about a movie you’ve recently seen.

As organizer of the newly-formed Quezon City International Pink Film Festival held in the Philippines, I have seen so many LGBT films submitted for participation. Aiming to be the largest gathering of LGBT films in Asia, it was natural to see as many Asian films in the region. I am greatly impressed by the transgender films that, I truly feel, have risen to become the most expressive among the LGBT films. There is a spike in the region for transgender films, mostly about transgender women. Films like Thi Tham Nguyen’s Madam Phung’s Last Journey (Vietnam), Vanna Hem’s Karma (Cambodia) and Eduardo Roy Jr.s Quickchange (Philippines) are extraordinary for bringing transgender issues in ways that have not been addressed before. But this is not totally unique to Asia. There seems to be a worldwide rise in transgender filmmaking, as I also encounter filmic narratives coming from the US like PJ Raval’s Trinidad and of course Europe with its many films on the genre.