Category Archives: Jury 2017

TEDDY AWARD Winners 2017

And the TEDDY goes to…
Here, you will find all the winners of the 31. TEDDY AWARD as well as informations about the movies and interviews with the directors and actresses/actors.

 Best Feature Film
UNA MUJER FANTASTICA (A FANTASTIC WOMAN)
by Sebastián Lelio, Chile

Daniela Vega, UNA MUJER FANTASTICA (A FANTASTIC WOMAN)
Daniela Vega, UNA MUJER FANTASTICA (A FANTASTIC WOMAN)

Statement of the Jury:
A Fantastic Woman is a perfexty crafted film with magnificent cinematic approach that tells an intimate yet under-represented narrative. This film offers a very authentic universe firlmy grounded by the mesmerizing and natural performance of Daniela Vega as Marina. Sébastian Lelio has infused the story with understanding and compassion illuminating the ongoing discrimination and marginalization of transgender people around the world.

Best Documentary-/Essay Film
Ri Chang Dui Hua (Small Talk)
by Huang Hui-chen, Taiwan

OK_201710814_1-min

Anu is a tomboy. Although she was married off at a young age – as was customary in Taiwan in the 1970s – and had two children, she quickly divorced her violent husband and brought up her daughters alone. Since then her only relationships have been with women who, like her, earn a living as professional mourners at funerals. One of her daughters is filmmaker Hui-chen Huang. It’s considered taboo in Chinese culture to question a mother’s unconditional love, and yet this taboo is exactly the topic of Huang’s intimate portrait. Mother and daughter set off on a journey together into the past during which Anu is confronted by questions that have tormented her daughter for years. In a series of long shots the two women discuss such topics as trust, abuse and cognisance, and yet most of these discussions end in painful silence. Shifting focus in order to plumb the depths of the topic, the director attempts to understand her mother by also talking to her mother’s siblings and ex-lovers. In doing so she paints a picture of changing living conditions for three generations of women in Taiwan.

Begründung der Jury:

Small Talk” is the director’s courageous portrayal of her family story, which gives the audience an inside look at a culture we might not be familiar with. This powerful documentary manages to be of universal significance and extremely intimate at the same time.


Best Short Film
Min Homosyster (My Gay Sister)
by Lia Hietala, Sweden/Norway

-© New Stories AB (1)-min

Ten-year-old Cleo has a head full of questions: How can I tell if I’m in love with somebody? How do I know if I prefer boys or girls? Since her older sister began dating another girl, there are new, strange feelings stirring inside Cleo. During a trip to the Norwegian fjords, she broaches the subject with the young couple and is given some helpful advice.

Statement of the Jury:

Min homosyster (My Gay Sister) by director Lia Hietala is a sweet story of a young girl who is starting to learn about love with the help of her big sister and her sister’s girlfriend. The film makes visible the complex emotions even us adults sometimes have while navigating our relationships and crushes. In the role of the little sister Cleo, Juliette Safavi is exceptionally natural and a delight to watch.


Special Jury Award
Karera ga Honki de Amu toki wa (Close-Knit)
by Naoko Ogigami, Japan

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Eleven-year-old Tomo is pretty much left to her own devices. Unwashed dishes are piling up in the sink and supermarket onigiri are all there is to eat again. Tomo’s single mother usually comes home late, and drunk. When she leaves her daughter for good one day the girl has to rely on help from her uncle, who takes in Tomo to live with him and his girlfriend Rinko. At their first meeting Tomo is flabbergasted to discover that Rinko is a transsexual. Rinko immediately sets about taking care of Tomo; not only does she lovingly prepare meals but she also succeeds in creating a new home for the girl. But before long cracks appear in their perfect nest. As in her last film Rentaneko (Panorama 2012) Japanese director Naoko Ogigami offers another story about finding a way out of one’s loneliness; in the case of Tomo and her new family the solution is a mixture of human warmth, good food and the symbolic act of knitting. In quietly concentrated images the film portrays non-normative sexuality as a natural way of life and describes the value of families that are defined not by convention but by a loving, caring environment.

Statement of the Jury:

The jury gives the special award to the film „Close-Knit“, a film which gives audiences a look into Japanese culture and the love of rainbow families through the eyes of an 11-year-old girl. Both the performances of the adults and the child actress are convincing and enjoyable. Filmmaker Naoko Ogigami’s natural dialogues and her sense of humour make for a very special movie experience. Ogigami puts emphasis on unique details such as the knitted objects, beautiful cinematography and the universal appeal of an uplifting, yet realistic story.

SPECIAL TEDDY AWARD
Monika Treut

The Special TEDDY Award goes to a filmmaker who contributed extraordinary merits for the characterization of queer film making over the years. Last year the US American producer Cristine Vachon received this award.

The SPECIAL TEDDY WARD 2017 goes to Monika Treut

Monika Treut coined as an director, producer and writer not only the feminist and lesbian cinema since the 80´s, but also the german-speaking independent film scene and inspired as an pioneer the New Queer Cinema to the US American Indie film. The courageousness and the critical approach of her topics and asthetics are closely related to the liberating energies of the Mao-Spontex movement of the 70´s. Her documentary Gendernauts won the TEDDY-Award in 1999 as Best Documentary and audience awards all over the world.

Since her feature film debut with Elfi Mikesch, Verführung: Die grausame Frau, more then 12 of her movies have been presented at the Berlinale. On the occasion of the award ceremony within the 31st TEDDY Awards, Panorama shows her second feature film, the classic die Jungfrauenmaschine from 1989.

MÄNNER Reader´s Award
God’s Own Country
by Francis Lee, Great Britain

Young Johnny is running his ailing father’s farm in Yorkshire, England. The communication between father and son reflects their adverse living and working conditions, the father’s utterances mostly being restricted to terse criticism of his son. Johnny’s grandmother plays her part stoically. A frustrated Johnny endures his strenuous daily routine. In a bid to escape the harsh daily grind, he has nostrings sex with men, or gets drunk at the local pub. In the spring, a farm hand is taken on for the season. Romanian Gheorghe is the same age as Johnny, who at first eyes him with suspicion. The initial tension between the two men soon gives way to an intense relationship. This opens up completely new prospects but also presents new challenges for Johnny. In his feature-length debut, Francis Lee finds authentic images to depict farm life as one of privation. His film concentrates on the looks and gestures of his characters and their physical proximity. The archaic landscape of ‘God’s own country’ as the locals call their county, perfectly reflects the turmoil going on inside the protagonists.

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2017 TEDDY-Jury

Good News!!!!

We are happy to announce the participants of the 2017 TEDDY-Jury!

This Year Gizem Bayiksel (Turkey), Sachiko Imai (Japan), Hassan Kamoga (Uganda), Saadat Munir (Denmark), Marjo Pipinen (Finland) Carl Spence (USA) und Martin Wolkner (Germany) will be part of the TEDDY-Jury.

Gizem Bayiksel

Bayiksel Gizem - Jury member 31. TEDDY AWARD
Bayiksel Gizem – Jury member 31. TEDDY AWARD

Gizem Bayiksel was born in Ankara in 1989. She has been working as a photographer and cinematographer in the film industry for over 5 years. Since 2012 she has also been working for numerous events and film festivals as a coordinator, programmer and film curator. Currently she is the festival coordinator and programmer of Pink Life QueerFest, the first and only queer film festival in Turkey. Pink Life QueerFest was launched in Ankara in 2011 and the festival is a space for LGBTQI individuals and artists to raise awareness for LGBTQI issues. Bayiksel’s personal interest in film and photography focuses on the female gaze and queer theory. She is currently working on her first feature film project, a sequel for her short “Child’s Play”,  a lesbian couple’s story with Turkish politics on the background.

Sachiko Imai

Sachiko Imai  - Jury member 31. TEDDY AWARD
Sachiko Imai – Jury member 31. TEDDY AWARD

Sachiko Imai is the programming director of Rainbow Reel Tokyo (formerly known as Tokyo International Lesbian & Gay Film Festival), which is one of the longest-running LGBT film festivals in Asia. Sachiko studied screenwriting at Nihon University College of Art where she received a Bachelor Degree in Film. After working in publishing for a while, she started her career as a translator, specializing herself in subtitles. She has translated numerous films and TV shows in Japanese, including some queer masterpieces such as “Weekend”, “Stranger by the Lake” and Showtime’s “The L Word” series. Imai also works as a coordinator for various film festivals in Japan.

Hassan Kamoga

Hassan Kamoga - Jury member 31. TEDDY AWARD
Hassan Kamoga – Jury member 31. TEDDY AWARD

Hassan Kamoga is a young Ugandan human rights activist and filmmaker. In 2016 he founded the Queer Kampala International Film Festival (QKIFF), the first and only LGBTQ Film Festival in Uganda and the only gay film festival organized in a country where homosexuality is illegal. QKIFF offers a powerful platform to promote and progress LGBTIQ rights through film advocacy in homophobic Uganda. Kamoga has produced a number of short documentaries for non-profit organizations in Uganda, Rwanda, Malawi, Egypt, Mozambique and Swaziland. He believes that social justice film-making has the power to change hearts, minds, and laws. Currently Kamoga Hassan is in pre-production for his latest documentary entitled ‘Where is Home’ about Ugandans seeking asylum in other countries.

Saadat Munir

Saadat Munir - Jury member 31. TEDDY AWARD
Saadat Munir – Jury member 31. TEDDY AWARD Photo: Nadia Hosted

Saadat Munir was born into the dichotomy of European and Asian cultures. From childhood, he was blessed with the opportunity to experience both cultures equally, having been raised in Denmark by his Pakistani parents. His love for culture grew and led him to receiving a degree in Communications from South Denmark University. In his short time as a filmmaker, Munir has been awarded several honours for his work and has recently been an official Talent at Berlinale 2015. Presently, Munir is a creative director of Aks Film, Art and Dialogue, a bi-national film festival for minorities and marginalized communities that illuminate sociopolitical aspects of transgender, queer, people of color (POC) living in Pakistan and Denmark. The film festival has played a very important role in bringing forth the challenges transgender women face in Pakistan and this festival is first of its kind which is officially run and organised by transgender and queer community in Pakistan.

Marjo Pipinen

Marjo Pipinen - Jury member 31. TEDDY AWARD
Marjo Pipinen – Jury member 31. TEDDY AWARD

Marjo Pipinen is programmer for Love & Anarchy – Helsinki International Film Festival, the biggest film festival in Finland. In 2002–2009, she worked as programmer for Vinokino, the Finnish queer film festival. Pipinen holds a Master’s Degree in Film Studies from Stockholm University. In her Master’s thesis, she wrote about archival aesthetics in New Queer Cinema. After her studies, Pipinen took office at Media Desk Finland and the Finnish Film Foundation, and she currently works in communications at the National Audiovisual Institute in Finland (formerly the Finnish Film Archive). Pipinen keeps a queer-feminist film blog (HQFEB) focusing on events around Helsinki. She is interested in cinema on the margins and she prefers to see films on the big screen. Festivals are her passion and she is voluntarily involved in the organization of many kinds of cultural events.

Carl Spence

Carl Spence 31. TEDDY AWARD Jury member
Carl Spence 31. TEDDY AWARD Jury member

Carl Spence began curating films and concerts during the grunge era in Seattle. He began his festival career at the Seattle International Film Festival in 1994, helping grow the Festival to become one of the largest film events in North America over the past two decades. He also led SIFF’s expansion into a year-round exhibition, making SIFF the leading independent arthouse exhibitor in Seattle by saving two historic cinemas along with the creation of a new flagship Film Center.  He most recently held the the position of Festival Director and Chief Curator at SIFF prior to starting his own consulting film, CCS Arts in late 2016.  He also held Director of Programming positions with the Palm Springs International Film Festival and with the San Francisco International Film Festival. In 2014, he helped create the Orcas Island Film Festival as a Festival co-director and the chief curator.

Martin Wolkner

Martin Wolkner - Jury member 31. TEDDY AWARD
Martin Wolkner – Jury member 31. TEDDY AWARD

Martin Wolkner studied Linguistics and Film Studies and is the founder and head of homochrom Film Festival. Established in 2009 as a monthly film series in six cities in North Rhine Westphalia, homochrom 2011 was supplemented by a queer film festival in Cologne and Dortmund. Wolkner initiated and launched the debut film prize of the German festival co-operation QueerScope, which was first awarded in 2016. As a member of German Film Critics Association he writes for online magazines and since 2010 – for the gay magazine called Box. Martin Wolkner has previously worked for the International Women’s Film Festival Dortmund | Cologne and is translating and making subtitles for DVD productions. Currently he is developing his own film projects as a writer.