Tag Archives: LGBTQ cinema

Blog

THE 36th TEDDY AWARD CEREMONY: THE LINE-UP

with BRIX SCHAUMBURG, GEORGETTE DEE, RASHA NAHAS, ZSOMBOR BOBÁK, MICHAEL STÜTZ and the TEDDY JURY 2022

We’re incredibly happy to be able to present this year’s TEDDY AWARDS – once again – at Berlin’s Volksbühne. On the big stage of this great theatre, which has become a dear home for the TEDDY AWARD ceremony and the biggest and hottest after show party of the Berlinale. We want to send a signal that even a virus cannot stop us from celebrating queer life and queer creativity and solidarity. With the 36th TEDDY AWARDS we want to do our part and share a rainbow of queer joy, visibility and community with you. Be there and celebrate with us when the TEDDY AWARDS are awarded live from the Volksbühne Berlin on TEDDYAWARD TV on 18 February from 9pm. Get the Livestream here.

THE 36th TEDDY AWARDS WILL BE HOSTED BY:

BRIX SCHAUMBURG
“The world needs more glitter and less pidgeonholing.”

© Sven Serkis

Brix Schaumburg is Germany’s first officially outed trans actor. Also a singer and speaker, he has won several awards and is actively striving towards more visibility and acceptance. It’s the year 2022 and we’re more progressive than ever. Nothing’s impossible and yet our constitution’s article 3 doesn’t even mention queer people. Brix is fighting for more justice, openness, and love. He hosts diversity coachings for corporations to achieve more awareness between all people and to attain more consciousness regarding our language.


WE WILL BE ENCHANTED BY:

GEORGETTE DEE
“Germany’s greatest living diseuse“ – Die Zeit

©Georgette Dee

With her songs, Georgette Dee rummages through life and love, flutters with a touch of melancholy to all facets of feelings, sometimes trailing, sometimes leading, skilfully weaving her way through each relationship jungle and weaving stories in which everyone can wander around at their own whim. You don’t want to miss a word, a gesture or one of the songs – and on the grand piano, the fabulous Terry Truck makes the thoughts and songs appear in musically magnificent images, as if casually.

Grand gestures, hushed tones, pointed nastiness, casual provocations, poignant chansons – true divas can do it.
And Georgette Dee certainly does.

AND:

RASHA NAHAS
“Nahas has the theatricality of Weimar cabaret with added violins and rockabilly.” – The Guardian

©Sama Haddad

Berlin-based Palestinian singer-songwriter and instrumentalist Rasha Nahas was born and raised in Haifa. Rasha has long been crafting a sound that moves seamlessly between the resonances of early rock ‘n’ roll and the reckless echoes of free jazz, complemented by her distinctive approach to songwriting, storytelling and performance.
While Rasha’s musical projects are always an exploration into new territories, one staple in her works is a dedication to the narrative. Reaching critical acclaim with her debut album, ‘Desert’ , she chronicled a personal and political journey from Palestine to Germany and back, landing reputable features such as BBC Radio 4’s Loose Ends, Spotify produced podcast Spotify:Mic Check and 3sat Kulturzeit, among many other radio and television features in Europe and the Arab world. Rasha has performed in many festivals and venues around the world, including Glastonbury Festival, Palestine Music Expo and Sim Sao Paulo. In her upcoming album ‘Amrat’ (due June 2022), Rasha explores themes of home, belonging, spirituality, freedom and her relationship with her mother-tongue.


INTRODUCING US TO THE QUEER MOVIES OF THE 72nd BERLINALE:

Zsombor Bobák in conversation with the TEDDY Jury and Michael Stütz

© Frameline Film Festival, Vitek Orski, van_schwarzdorn

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.

Michael Stütz is head of the Panorama section of the Berlinale. He was born in Linz, Austria, in 1977 and studied theatre, film and media studies at the University of Vienna and the Free University of Berlin. At the same time he worked for film productions at Studio Babelsberg. He has lived and worked in Berlin since 2005. After an internship at TEDDY, he became assistant to the then Panorama director Wieland Speck in 2006. He subsequently took on tasks in the section ranging from office management to programme coordination, coordination of the TEDDY AWARD and as programme advisor to Wieland Speck. From July 2017, he served as curator and programme manager of the Panorama until he took over as head of the section in 2020. He has also been active as a guest speaker, curator or jury member at numerous other festivals, including the Guadalajara International Film Festival, Crossing Europe, Mix Brazil or the Tel Aviv International LGBT Film Festival.

THE JURY OF THE 36th TEDDY AWARD

Faridah Gbadamosi is a pop culture-obsessed lover of film working towards making the space more inclusive. In particular, her interests are in changing the space of tastemakers, rethinking the models for curation and exhibition. She has worked in a variety of roles at different film festivals and other film organizations including the California Film Institute, Athena Film Festival, Tribeca, SIFF, and many more. In addition to her programming roles, she is also Director of Distribution at Open Your Eyes and Think MF, the distribution wing of David Magdael & Associates, a consultant on different film projects, and a freelance culture critic. She recently was appointed the Artistic Director of Outfest and is very excited to help shepherd the future of the organization as it enters its 40th year. 

Pepe Ruiloba is a film programmer and critic helming from Mexico City. He worked in production of films and commercials before joining the Guadalajara International Film Festival for six years as programmer & operational coordinator of Premio Maguey, a competitive section that showcases LGBTQ+ cinema. He currently programs the Queer strand of the Raindance Film Festival in London and the Árbol Rojo Film Exhibition in Southeast Mexico. He also works as a script editor & supervisor in local production company Studio Palíndromo, and is a film critic for newspaper Reforma, one of the largest printed media company in Mexico and Latin America.

Joanna Ostrowska holds a PhD in Humanities and is a lecturer in the Department of Jewish Studies at the Jagielloński University (Krakow), in Gender Studies at the University of Warsaw and in Polish-Jewish Studies at the Institute of Literary Research of the Polish Academy of Sciences. She researches on the topic of the forgotten victims of the Holocaust and the queer history of the Second World War. She is a film critic, a member of the selection committee for the Krakow Film Festival and a programmer for the LGBT Film Festival in Warsaw. 

Robert Moussa is the founder and director of Soura Film Festival, a berlin-based queer film festival that sheds light on cinematic talents from the South-West Asia and North Africa (SWANA) region, and was established in 2019. He graduated from the American University of Beirut with a Bachelor in Mass Communications, then moved to Prague to pursue his passion for film at FAMU. He was selected to be a jury member for the 15th edition of Xposed Film Festival. 

Blog

Queer Academy – A Directors Exchange 2020

Tuesday, February 25 @ TEDDYBAR, Bellevuestr. 1, 10785 Berlin

Curated by Panorama and organised with the Queer Academy, A Directors Exchange analyses the work of filmmakers whose films are being presented at the festival and are in contention for the TEDDY AWARD.

TIMETABLE

11.30am – 12.30pm: A Directors Exchange on Queering the Framework – In conversation with Patric Chiha and Matthew Rankin

Patric Chiha, director of Si c’était de l’amour, and Matthew Rankin, director of The Twentieth Century, use various styles and artistry in their films to queer the framework where stories told through dance and theatrical staging become celebrations of transformation.  

Patric Chiha & Matthew Rankin

Patric Chiha:
Born in Vienna, Austria in 1975, he studied fashion design in Paris and then film editing at the INSAS film school in Brussels. His short and documentary films have screened at several festivals. His feature film debut Domaine, starring Béatrice Dalle, premiered at the 2009 Venice Film Festival. His documentary Brothers of the Night screened in the 2016 Panorama.

Matthew Rankin:
Born in Winnipeg, Canada in 1980. He studied at the Department of History and Classical Studies at McGill University in Montreal, as well as Université Laval in Quebec. In 2011, Rankin participated at Berlinale Talents. Following numerous short films, The Twentieth Century is his first feature film.

Moderation: Ana David

1pm – 2pm: A Directors Exchange on New Queer German Cinema – In conversation with Faraz Shariat and Leonie Krippendorff

Two films with a fresh take on coming of age and coming to terms with ideas of home and belonging in a post-migrant society. Faraz Shariat, director of Futur Drei and Leonie Krippendorff, director of Kokon, talk about their motivations, inspirations and desires for creating their own stories. 

Faraz Shariat & Leonie Krippendorff

Faraz Shariat:
Born in Cologne, Germany in 1994, he worked first as a director and actor at Schauspiel Köln and on video installations for the Staatstheater Hannover before studying dramatic arts at the University of Hildesheim. His work focuses on post-migrant experiences and stories about immigrant families. His debut feature film, Futur Drei, evolved from his autobiographical documentaries exploring his family history and from his work as a translator for refugees. The film was developed in collaboration with Paulina Lorenz and Raquel Molt in the Jünglinge film collective, where the three have been working together ever since they met at university.

Leonie Krippendorff:
Born in Berlin, Germany in 1985, she studied directing at the Film University Babelsberg Konrad Wolf from 2009 to 2016. Her graduation film, Looping, was nominated for numerous national and international prizes and won several. The screenplay for her debut feature film, Kokon, was selected for the 2018 Berlinale Talents Script Station. She is currently working on the screenplays for two new feature film projects. Variety chose her as one of “10 Europeans to Watch 2020.”

Moderation: Nastaran Tajeri-Foumani 

DOWNLOAD: QUEER ACADEMY SUMMIT GUIDE 2020

Free admission / The events are held in English.

Blog

TEDDY ACTIVIST AWARD – WINNER

The TEDDY AWARD and the award donator HARALD CHRIST, entrepreneur and longtime TEDDY supporter, will present the TEDDY ACTIVIST AWARD for the first time this year. The award includes a donation of 5.000 € and will be presented annually in the future in the scope of the TEDDY AWARD ceremony. 

Inspired by the work and courage of so many activists who fight for the ongoing struggle of sexual and gender minorities all over the world, the TEDDY ACTIVIST AWARD honours people who work for change under difficult circumstances and in a non-supportive political and social environment and thus contribute to tolerance, acceptance, justice and equality in the world. In many parts of the world, this means putting oneself and the people around you at risk and exposing oneself to rejection, marginalization, isolation and persecution. The award is intended to honour the courage and determination of these people.

The TEDDY ACTIVIST AWARD 2020 goes to a group of activists who, at risk to their own lives, courageously and resolutely save and rescue persecuted homosexuals and transsexuals in Chechnya from imprisonment, torture and murder and bring them to safety. The TEDDY and Harald Christ pay tribute to these courageous people with deep respect and hope that this prize will help to ensure that the continuing silence and look away of the so-called “free world” finally turns into a worldwide outcry of indignation and that the perpetrators are ostracized and held accountable by the world community.

The Gay Pogrom in Chechnya:

On April 1, 2017, the Novaya Gazeta, an independent Russian newspaper, reported that government security officials were abducting, detaining, and torturing gay men in Chechnya, demanding that these men divulge the names of other gays whom they would then abduct, detain, and torture as well. Chechnya’s President Ramzan Kadyrov has openly described the goal of this campaign as an effort “to cleanse our blood.” He has called upon family members to carry out so-called “honor killings.”

There are no estimates of the number of the dead. Hundreds of Chechens have simply disappeared since the atrocities began, and hundreds more have escaped.

Leaders of the St. Petersburg-based Russian LGBTQI* Network established a hotline in the early days of the pogrom. They set up a series of secret safe-houses throughout the country, in partnership with other LGBTQI* organizations, especially The Moscow Community Center for LGBT+ Initiatives.

In the first two years, they moved 151 people out of the Chechnya and beyond the Russian border. Countries receiving them include Canada, Germany, France, Norway, Belgium, the Netherlands, Argentina, and elsewhere. The US government rejected all applicants stemming from the pogrom. 

Response from Chechen Leadership:

Ramzan Kadyrov immediately denied the accusations when they first surfaced, calling them “lies.” What’s more, he says it is impossible to carry out such crimes because they “don’t have that kind of people here. We don’t have gays.” Despite these statements, Kadyrov has publicly endorsed so-called “honor killings,” urging families to murder relatives suspected of being gay, lesbian, or transgender. His press secretary stated: “If there were such people in Chechnya, the law-enforcement agencies wouldn’t need to have anything to do with them because their relatives would send them to a place of no return.” Those who commit such murders face no criminal ramifications. Russian President Vladimir Putin accepted Kadyrov’s denials. Yet under pressure from international leaders, Putin briefly moved forward with a widely criticized investigation, which found no witnesses and victims willing to give testimony, fearing retribution. The Kremlin claimed the lack of testimony was proof that no human rights abuses had occurred. 

Lesbians and Transgender Women and Men are Also Targeted:

Although much of the reporting on this subject has focused on gay men, Chechen lesbians and transgender women have reported similar treatment. Survivors have commonly spoken about forced religious exorcisms and involuntary commitments to psychiatric hospitals, as well as torture and detention. Evidence has also surfaced of so-called “honor killings” of lesbians. 

Women have little autonomy in Chechnya’s interpretation of Islam. Male family members generally accompany them when they are outside of their homes, making their efforts to escape to safety even more difficult — and dangerous — than for men.

The Victims are Being Hunted Around the World:

Since the operational goal of Kadyrov’s government is the elimination from the Chechen bloodline of LGBTQI people, fleeing the country doesn’t give victims safety.  Authorities pressure Chechen families to hunt them down and return them for execution. And their reach is surprisingly far. There is a vast global diaspora of people who fled during the two Chechnya wars. 

In November 2019, officials called upon diaspora members to enforce Chechen mores wherever they live. In remarks widely seen as referring to gay people, Kadyrov’s right-hand man said: “I’m telling you, those who live in Europe, America and Canada: Stop such people! By law, with our traditions and customs, we should resolve their problem,” said Adam Delimkhanov. “We implore you, don’t let them embarrass the honor of our nation.”  There have been cases of Chechens being tricked into returning or being forced in their new country to record denials of their homosexuality. Some have been attacked in their host countries. 

It’s Not a Good Time to be Gay in Much of the World:

The persecution of gay people is not exclusive to Chechnya. According to ILGA-Europe, there are 70 countries worldwide where being gay is criminalized, including 11 countries where the death penalty could be imposed.

However, what is happening in Chechnya is categorically different. It is the only government since Nazi Germany to round up LGBTQI people for extermination. 

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Masha Gessen, “The Gay Men Who Fled Chechnya’s Purge, New Yorker, July 3, 2017 https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/07/03/the-gay-men-who-fled-chechnyas-purge 

Masha Gessen, “Fleeing Anti-Gay Persecution in Chechnya, Three Young Women Are Now Stuck in Place,” New Yorker, October 1, 2018 https://www.newyorker.com/news/our-columnists/fleeing-anti-gay-persecution-in-chechnya-three-young-women-are-now-stuck-in-place

“They Have Long Arms and They Can Find Me: Anti-Gay Purge by Local Authorities in Russia’s Chechen Republic,” A Human Rights Watch Report, May 26, 2017 https://www.hrw.org/report/2017/05/26/they-have-long-arms-and-they-can-find-me/anti-gay-purge-local-authorities-russias 

“Honor Kill: How the Ambitions of a Famous LGBT Activist Awoke a Terrible Ancient Custom in Chechnya, Elena Milashina,” Novaya Gazetta, April 1, 2017 https://novayagazeta.ru/articles/2017/04/01/71983-ubiystvo-chesti 

“Novaya Gazetta Learned of New Gay Persecution in Chechnya,” Novaya Gazetta, January 11, 2019 https://novayagazeta.ru/news/2019/01/11/148260-chechnya 

ILGA Europe, “Sexual Orientation Laws in the World, 2019” https://ilga.org/downloads/ILGA_Sexual_Orientation_Laws_Map_2019.pdf