Meet the Jury: Ellen Becht

Name: Ellen Becht
Country: Germany
Festival: pride pictures, Lesbisch-Schwule Filmtage Karlsruhe

Ellen Becht - Kopie

How do you like Berlin? What is special about the city for you?
Berlin is marvellous. I like its cultural events (especially classical music), the intercultural living together and of course the gay scene.

How would you describe the Berlinale in one sentence?
Melting pot of different cultures

What was your first encounter with the TEDDY AWARD?
When I visited the Berlinale for the first time a few years ago, I was very delighted, that there was such a thing like the TEDDY AWARD.

In your eyes, what does the TEDDY AWARD symbolize? What does it stand for? What makes it unique?
It combines a special perspective of living with an alternative way of expression in film art.

Tell us about a movie you’ve recently seen.
I watched In the name of… [TEDDY AWARD winner 2013] about a gay priest in Poland and his coming out. I like movies showing how people develop. This one was very sympathetic, also humorous, with impressing pictures and pretty authentic actors.

#teddyartist: So Low Suicide

One day, the lead singer of ‘Call Me An Ambulance’ asked: „Is there a life after punk rock?“ Looking at suicide statistics of that genre, the answer was clear: So Low Suicide! Six years ago, a band was founded under exactly that name in Berlin. Ever since, So Low Suicide records singing birds, heart tragedies, dead celebrities and the dark side of wardrobes where our demons and angels are hidden.

 

When: 07.02.14
10 pm @TEDDY AWARD Grand Opening Night
Where: SchwuZ
Tickets

#teddyartist: Godmother

Godmother is a transgenre band that plays “oldies but newbies”, finding that middle ground between the strange and the strangely familiar. Their first anti-hit was “Theme Song from James Bond 23”, amassing over 200,000 views on YouTube (albeit mostly from pissed-off Adele fans). One year later, GODMOTHER released a 7″ single and music video for “These Things Take Time”, which No Fear Of Pop praised as “exuberant, luscious, and delightfully kinky… effectively smashed the competition for 2013’s greatest lyric.”
 

When: 07.02.14
10 pm @TEDDY AWARD Grand Opening Night
Where: SchwuZ
Tickets

#teddyartist: Hedwig & the Angry Inch feat. Sven Ratzke

HEDWIG is coming back, whether you like it or not! The story of a rock n’ roll gender-bender premiered off-Broadway in 1998 and rapidly became a cult hit – just as did the 2001 film version, which also won that year’s TEDDY AWARD. In the musical’s first German production (2013), HEDWIG is played by the extravagant Sven Ratzke.

Born in 1977, the singer and entertainer lives in Amsterdam and Berlin and has been performing solo shows all over Europe as well as in New York for more than 10 years. Part German, part Dutch, Ratzke is considered an Homme Fatale of the chanson and cabaret scene and is virtually unique in his interpretations of modern vaudeville theater which incorporate elements of cabaret and personality show.

Sven Ratzke is backed by his personal angry inches: Florian Friedrich (Bass & Musical Director), Christopher Noodt (Keys), Hans Schlotter (Drums), Jan Terstegen (Guitar).

When: 14.02.14
9 pm @TEDDY AWARD Ceremony
Where: Komische Oper Berlin
Ticket Hotline: Tel.: +49-(0)30-4799 7474

#teddyartist: Günter Papendell

His amazing voice held audiences spellbound in Mannheim, Bremen and even Chicago: Baritone Günter Papendell has already made his mark across a wide range. Winner and finalist in various competitions – including the ARD Channel Music Contest, the Willi Domgraff Fassbaender Competition and the Belvedere Singing Contest. In 2004, he joined the ensemble at the Musiktheater im Revier, Gelsenkirchen. Guest performances have taken him to the Bavarian State Opera House and the Gärtnerplatz Theater in Munich, to the Mannheim and Weimar National Theaters as well as the State Theaters at Nüremburg and Mainz. He has been part of the ensemble at the Komische Oper Berlin since 2007, where he has played Don Giovanni, Escamillo, Guglielmo, Graf Almaviva and Dr. Falke.

When: 14.02.14
9 pm @TEDDY AWARD Gala
Where: Komische Oper Berlin
Ticket Hotline: Tel.: +49-(0)30-4799 7474

Picture © Gunnar Geller