The moment has come! After celebrating the incredible queer movies of the International Berlin Film Festival for the past month, we now know the names of the 2023 TEDDY AWARD winners.
The 37th edition of the TEDDY AWARD proved once again that there are infinite ways to tell queer stories. Our nominated films of 2023 illustrated this diversity in the best way possible, and we are overjoyed to see the work of all the directors, actors and behind-the-scenes workers being praised and appreciated. Unfortunately, at the end of the day, only one can win!
Without further ado, here are the 2023 winners. And the TEDDY goes to…
We’re excited to have four fantastic DJs on board who will provide the best sound for the big TEDDY Party at Berlin’s Volksbühne.
Pat Bernetti started her career in NYC and now resides in Berlin, playing in clubs, festivals, awards, galas and events all over the world, where she thrills the party crowds with her mix of RnB, Hip Hop, House, Pop, Funk, Oldies, Rock, Electro Swing & Charts.
DJ Trust.The.Girl is electrifying queer crowds all over Germany with her colorful, vibrant mix of diverse genres.
Amperia is a queer, non binary Berlin-based DJ. Known for their party Golosissima and as resident and curator of Autopoiesis and poly|motion, they will be playing a driving techno house set.
Ābnamā: a can of worms wearing lipstick on the can, a return to the source of all things considered and a flashback to bearings lost but never had. Based in Berlin, co-organizer and resident at DUMP, she is known for driving grooves that span across various genres.
You can find the full overview of queer films presented at the 37. TEDDY Awards here. Presentations of films from former TEDDY editions are available in our film database.
22:30 TEDDY JURY RECEPTION: Moderated Introduction to our Jury The traditional introduction of the TEDDY AWARD jury with information and talks about the work of the jury, their festivals and what a queer film award means to them.
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SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 18th
15:15 – 16:30 CURATING THE FUTURE: Towards programming equity(EFM Industry Session) What is the future of film programming? Join us for a discussion of just, ethical, and community-rooted film programming practices as well as a participatory worldbuilding experience to chart the future of the field with Karim Ahmad, Jemma Desai, Can Sungu, Lucy Mukerjee and Tambay Obenson.
This year, a number of films invite us into the club as a social place and a space of timeless seduction and seemingly endless possibilities: two being Anthony Lapia’s film After; and Hannes Hirsch’s Berlin metamorphosis Drifter. These films could not be more different in style and narrative, but they both find a common denominator between beats, hedonism and losing oneself. We invite both filmmakers to speak about their inspiration and approach in crafting their films. Moderator: Ana David
The QueerWeb series is about exploring, analysing and connecting elements, initiatives and organisations that can strengthen the queer film network, from production to programming, networking to training and exhibition to archiving. In Part 1, we begin by navigating existing organisations that support people within the industry. From collectives and initiatives to training programs set up to strengthen connections from within. By coming together, we look to analyse existing power structures and discuss how each of us, through our work, can collectively go about demanding changes. Moderator: Nastaran Tajeri-Foumani
Moving through 24 hours of sweeping emotions in the existence of a singular trans* man to the unfiltered wisdom and self-empowerment of four black trans* sex workers, Directors Vuk Lungulov-Klotz and D. Smith talk us through their bold cinematic statements of artistic and aesthetic expression. Fuelled by their respective critique of a binary world, the importance of self-representation will be explored within the directors’ exchange. Moderator: Djamilia Grandits
Five queer film professionals present a 10-minute talk around Queer Visions. Creating that vision from existing realities, from experiences on film sets, in pitching meetings, writers rooms, auditions or creating that program for your festival audience? How do these visions or utopias look, are they achievable or are we just kidding ourselves? Let us explore the possibilities of change in the TEDDY Talents Talks. Moderator: Djamilia Grandits
14:30 TEDDY TALK: From Surviving to Thriving! In an effort to strengthen the Queer Film Market we must first look at its many fragile entities. The Queer Film Festivals, made mostly on shoestring budgets, the Queer Films with little to no development funding and the distribution network, heavily dependent on the screening fees from the festivals that in turn struggle with little to no budgets. How has this survived up until now and is this sustainable in the face of a changing cinema landscape? In taking an in depth look at existing structures, we aim to examine the balance between surviving and thriving. Moderator: Skadi Loist
16:30 QUEER YOUR PROGRAM: Hybrid Those Speedy Film Pitches Thirty Filmmakers whose films are ready for distribution will present their projects within two-minute pitches to programmers, distributors and sales agents. Join in to find potentially your next opening night film. Moderator: Bartholomew Sammut
18:30 QUEER INDUSTRY RECEPTION The annual gathering of industry professionals from the Queer Film Industry, from filmmakers to programmers, to distributors and sales agents.
Zsombor Bobák joined the TEDDY team in 2018 and has since then seen almost all queer films at the Berlinale. With his insightful and competent interviews and conversations with the directors, he gives us a deep insight into the world of queer cinema and the makers every year on TEDDYAWARD TV. He holds an M.A. in Preservation and Presentation of the Moving Image from the University of Amsterdam and is a PhD student at the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz. His field of research is queer archiving methods that bring the LGBTQ+ history of Central and Eastern Europe to life. He is passionate about queer moving images and recently started to explore the productive engagement of academic research and found footage filmmaking.
