During the celebration of the 90th Academy Award last Sunday, ‘Una Mujer Fantástica’ (‘A Fantastic Woman’), was awarded the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film. The film, which won the 31st TEDDY AWARD for best feature in 2017, is the work of Chilean director Sebastián Lelio. The Academy Award for a non-English speaking film has been given away since 1956 and ‘A Fantastic Woman’ is a landmark recipient in a number of respects; it’s the first first Chilean film to win the foreign-language Oscar, the first film with a trans themed plot to take home the prize, and lead actor Daniela Vega is the first openly transgender person to present an award on stage at the ceremony. Sebastián Lelio praised Daniela Vega as “the inspiration for this movie”. 
The story follows Marina (Daniela Vega), a transgender woman working as a waitress, who has a loving relationship with Orlando (Francisco Reyes), a divorced man 30 years her senior. Their affectionate love is brought to an abrupt end on the day of Orlando’s sudden death. In the aftermath of this tragedy, Marina is faced with the hatred of Orlando’s ex-wife and children. She fights simultaneously for her right to mourn her beloved one and against the prejudices and harassment from her late lover’s family. The film not only gives a sensitive portrayal of the universal right to grieve but also tells the intimate story of a trans women in today’s conservative Chile. On a broader level, the film highlights the transphobia and ignorance constituting every-day life for many transgender people around the world. Few would be able to leave the cinema unmoved by this touching story of love and loss. To learn more about the film, have a look at our interview with director Sebastián Lelio and lead actors Daniela Vega and FranciscoReyes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9VQLBKaP9Q
Tag Archives: Berlinale
TEDDY Readers’ Award powered by Mannschaft Magazin
As proud media partner of the Teddy Award, Mannschaft will award the “TEDDY Readers’ Award” 2018. These five film freaks will decide.
For over 30 years, the “Teddy Award” has honored queer films within the framework of the Berlinale. In 2018, Mannschaft Magazin will participate for the first time as media partner and present the “Teddy Readers’ Award”. Until the 15th of December, queer film fans could apply to be members of the jury. Mannschaft received a large pile of dossiers, which did not make the selection easy! Finally, they opted for a composition that unifies different aspects of filmmaking and queer interests, as diverse as possible. The Teddy will be awarded on February 23rd at the Haus der Berliner Festspiele. The 68th Berlin International Film Festival will take place from February 15 – 25, 2018 – teddyaward.tv
Martin Busse, 30
Born in Berlin, Busse is a music editor for Mannschaft, but also passionately interested in queer filmmaking. As a child, he wanted to be a director; today Martin owns no less than 600 DVDs, from Arthaus to Trash. As jury president and official representative of Mannschaft, Martin will lead the jury.
Katayun Pirdawari, 54
Katayun can be found at the Berlinale almost every year and brings along a lot of experience: she has already participated in the readers’ jury for Siegessäule and Männer Magazin. For almost thirty years, the 54-year-old with Persian background has stood up for LGBT rights and for lesbian Iranian women, including four years as a board member of the Lesbian and Gay Association LSVD. Because of the AfD, Trump, Erdogan and Putin, Katayun is particularly curious about this year’s Berlinale films.
Holger Beisitzer, 42
Holger is a regular moviegoer and once shot a “very short short film” for a competition, as he says. As a gay dad, the artist and interior designer contributes the perspective of a rainbow family.
Christine Burkart, 35
Christine is a freelance video journalist, photographer and museum pedagogue and has long been passionate about queer topics. She describes herself as openly bisexual, even if labels almost always seem too one-dimensional to her. During her studies, she dealt with art history, gender theory and film studies issues – knowledge she will gladly draw on as a juror.
Adriell Kopp, 30
For Adriell, the presence of queer film characters as well as the filming of their destinies is an essential part of finding the identity of the LGBT community. A big fan of queer cinema and a student of media studies, the 30-year-old has a well-trained eye for media aesthetics, queer art and identity politics.
Translation by Naomi Scherer
Day 10: Destroy what destroys you
What a beautiful night my friends! What a spectacular Award Ceremony! Conchita Wurst was there, Udo Kier and even Andrea Nahles (even if she doesn´t really fit into this list). The TEDDY trophies were given away and we all danced till our toes were bleeding.
So maybe we should do something calm today… how about going to the movies?
Day 8: Anticipation and Diversity Talks
Hello, dear film lovers! I hope you had a great time on the Berlinale so far; met interesting people, watched inspiring movies and drank a lot of coffee. The preparations for tomorrows Award Ceremony are in full swing and we are full of anticipation.
Today we will have our great Diversity Talks again, which you shouldn´t miss! Today at 11am we will have a talk with filmmakers Neil Triffet and Lia Hietala about the subject “Queer for the Kids”, whose movies “EMO The Musical” and “Mon Homosytser” are on this years queer list. At 2pm we´re going to have a discussion about “Queer Historiography” with filmmakers Andrea Weiss (“Bones of Contention”) and Jochen Hick (“Mein wunderbares West-Berlin”).
Where? At BRLO Brwhouse at U-Bhf-Gleisdreieck, Schöneberger Straße 16. Guys, it´s going to be very interesting, come around! Below you´ll find the queer programme for today. Continue reading Day 8: Anticipation and Diversity Talks
Day 6: “we´re all weirdos, that´s what makes us beautiful!”
Halftime, my friends! The first half of the festival is over, now hurry! You didn´t watch enough movies? Go for it, because there are only 5 days left!
“We´re all weirdos, that´s what makes us beautiful” is a quote from the film “Weirdos” from Bruce McDonald which you can watch over the next three days at the Berlinale. ´Cause Bruce McDonald himself is a weirdo of the best sort. Weirdos are something beautiful, this is what we found out at the Interview yesterday and which you can be convinced yourself by his new film. McDonald started his career with 8mm Zombies films, that he shot during high school. Over the years he made himself a name in the independent film scene far beyond the borders of Canada. His films are often about people on a road trip, where self-discovery and Rock´n Roll are the ingredients his films are made of. And of course, there are people who are weird sometimes but always lovable. Like in “Weirdos”: two 15-year old teenagers run away to hitchhike through the countryside. Kit wants to go to his mother and live with her, because he is hoping for a better life. Why everything turns out completely different and which role Andy Warhol plays in that film you have to find out yourself! It´s worth it! Have fun!
Continue reading Day 6: “we´re all weirdos, that´s what makes us beautiful!”