After every TEDDY AWARD we are extremely happy to see TEDDY winner films coming into the cinemas!
For the cinema start of Wenn du Angst hast nimmst du dein Herz in den Mund und lächelst (If You Are Afraid You Put Your Heart into Your Mouth and Smile) on October 2nd, the director Marie Luise Lehner is going on a tour with Arsenal on Location. A great opportunity for everyone who has not yet seen this film!
Synopsis: Slowly, 12-year-old Anna and her deaf mum are starting to feel a bit cramped in their flat. It’s not just the lack of privacy that’s causing friction – Anna has just started secondary school and quickly realises what’s important now: brand-name clothes and a sense of belonging. She quickly gets hold of a fake Ralph Lauren jumper, but money’s still tight. In her debut, director and author Marie Luise Lehner stages a confrontation with classist structures, which Anna tackles with a mixture of shame and grit. She finds an ally in Mara, who challenges others with feminist issues and who also lives alone with her queer father. Lehner stands by her heroes unconditionally, giving them space for introspection and outbursts, allowing them to row back and reconcile. Not fitting in allows them to get to know and appreciate who they are. Lehner flies the flag of solidarity, quite naturally and with plenty of references to pop culture. And closes with a liberating “Fuck you, Vienna”, high above the city’s rooftops. (Berlinale Synopsis 2025)
As the first hearing impaired actress in an Austrian production, Mariya Menner is playing the role of the mother. Inclusion has been central during the shooting of the film.
Jury Statement TEDDY Jury Award: “This film cuts to the heart of our present moment with deceptive ease, populating its world with queer lives while insisting on the fundamental queerness of existence – and finally, asserting that bodily autonomy must never be surrendered to institutional control.”
You can find an in depth interview with the director here.
The Berlinale is coming to an end, but don’t worry – there are still great films in many cinemas. And if you missed the 39th TEDDY AWARD ceremony yesterday, you can read the winners’ summary HERE!
Directed by: Barbara Hammer, Joey Carducci USA, 2010, 30′
Celebrating Hammer’s spontaneous shooting style and dense editing montage with Carducci’s studied cinematography, the two filmmakers, generations apart in age, shoot the last days of the amusement park Astroland in Coney Island, New York.
This evocative tribute to the mother of American avant-garde film provides an elusive agency for a filmmaker who was larger than life, as recounted by those who knew her.
A sales assistant who is bored with his job infiltrates the inner circle of a musician on the verge of mainstream success. The closer he gets to the budding pop star, the more this contact becomes a matter of life and death to him.
A queer movie celebrates its premiere today. All your favorites are running multiple times and can also be seen today in many cinemas.
INTERVIEWS:
Casi septiembre (Close to September)
Alejandra lives on a campsite close to the big hotels. She takes care of her siblings, hangs out in the neighbourhood and flirts casually with the tourists – until she meets Amara. A romance develops that grows more serious than Alejandra would like.
Alejandra lives on a campsite close to the big hotels. She takes care of her siblings, hangs out in the neighbourhood and flirts casually with the tourists – until she meets Amara. A romance develops that grows more serious than Alejandra would like.
A sophisticated program with new international film highlights awaits you again today. There are exciting premieres to discover and the opportunity to experience some previously screened works again.
We wish you an inspiring day and lots of fun at the Berlinale!
INTERVIEWS:
Drømmer (Dreams (Sex Love))
Johanne’s intimate writings about her crush on her teacher ignite both tension and self-reflection within her family, as her mother and grandmother confront their own unfulfilled dreams and desires.
Arthur and Julian share a dorm at a boys’ boarding school. Arthur is in love with Julian, but Julian ignores him. When Julian begins to sleepwalk, a strange intimacy develops between the two.
Sous ma fenêtre, la boue (The Mud Under My Window)
One of Emma’s mothers is too busy; the other is too far away. One is rejected, the other idealised. Out of a trivial tension, an intimate and unsettling face-to-face confrontation suddenly arises.
Wenn du Angst hast nimmst du dein Herz in den Mund und lächelst (If You Are Afraid You Put Your Heart into)
Anna, 12, lives with her deaf mother in a loving bond, yet under humble conditions that are a source of social shame, when she begins high school. Staying close to its heroines, this refreshing debut blends solidarity, feminism and tons of melodies.
Directed by: Dag Johan Haugerud Norway, 2024, 110′
Johanne’s intimate writings about her crush on her teacher ignite both tension and self-reflection within her family, as her mother and grandmother confront their own unfulfilled dreams and desires.
Arthur and Julian share a dorm at a boys’ boarding school. Arthur is in love with Julian, but Julian ignores him. When Julian begins to sleepwalk, a strange intimacy develops between the two.
Directed by: Isaac Julien Great Britain, 1989, 46′
The 1989 film Looking for Langston is a lyrical exploration of the world of poet and social activist Langston Hughes (1902–1967) and his fellow Black artists and writers of the 1920s Harlem Renaissance.
Directed by: Isaac Julien Great Britain, 2025, 32′
The film explores the storied relationship between Dr Albert C. Barnes, an early US collector and exhibitor of African cultural artefacts, and the renowned philosopher and cultural critic Alain Locke, known as the “Father of the Harlem Renaissance”.
Directed by: Violette Delvoye France, Belgium, 2025, 13′
One of Emma’s mothers is too busy; the other is too far away. One is rejected, the other idealised. Out of a trivial tension, an intimate and unsettling face-to-face confrontation suddenly arises.
Directed by: Marie Luise Lehner Austria, 2025, 87′
Anna, 12, lives with her deaf mother in a loving bond, yet under humble conditions that are a source of social shame, when she begins high school. Staying close to its heroines, this refreshing debut blends solidarity, feminism and tons of melodies.
