Today marks the end of the 72nd edition of the Berlinale.
What a terrific time we had with all the film premieres, interviews and of course, the award ceremonies for the GOLDEN BEARS and the TEDDY AWARDS. In spite of all the restrictions we faced, we’re extremely happy to have been able to send a clear message to our community and beyond: no pandemic will keep us from celebrating queer talent, creativity and solidarity!
It has been a tremendous honour to be able to share this experience with you. May the next TEDDY AWARD edition be once again the glamourous event we’ve come to know and love.
Stay safe and stay optimistic – see you in February 2023! ❤️
RERUNS:
Aos dezasseis (At Sixteen) 20.02. / 15:00 CinemaxX 1 20.02. / 15:00 CinemaxX 2 20.02. / 17:30 International
Bashtaalak sa’at (Shall I Compare You to a Summer’s Day?) 20.02. / 21:00 CinemaxX 5
Today’s the big day: the TEDDY AWARDS are being given out at the Volksbühne – and you can join us via live stream!
We’re so excited for tonight’s show, and even though there can’t yet be an audience, we have a wonderful program prepared for you. In spite of all the restrictions, we’re more than happy to be able to set a sign: no virus will keep us from celebrating queer life and queer creativity and solidarity.
There will be live performances by GEORGETTE DEE as well as by RASHA NAHAS. For the first time, BRIX SCHAUMBURG is going to host the TEDDY AWARDS and MICHAEL STÜTZ (Head of Panorama) will join us for a little chat with ZSOMBOR BOBÁK. Last but not least, our fantastic TEDDY JURY will be there to award four brilliant filmmakers for their work.
So open a little bottle of bubbly and join us for the party! 🥳
RERUNS:
Alis 18.02. / 18:00 Titania Palast
Ask, Mark ve Ölüm (Love, Deutschmarks and Death) 18.02. / 14:00 Cubix 9
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.”
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
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
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
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.
Friday 11 Feb 2022 – 6pm cet a TEDDY Jury Reception: The traditional introduction to our TEDDY AWARD Jury as Online talk Zsombor Bobák in conversation with this year’s TEDDY jury members Robert Moussa, Joanna Ostrowska, Faridah Gbadamosi & Pepe Ruiloba about their festivals, the TEDDY jury’s work and what a Queer Film Prize means to them.
Saturday 12 Feb 2022 – 4pm cet TEDDY Talk: The TEDDY Winners Path through a Pandemic Samuel Girma in conversation with Eliane Raheb & John Greyson A conversation between the winners of the past TEDDY AWARDS and how winning the TEDDY AWARD during the pandemic influenced their films path, plus what that path looked like during the second year of this ongoing pandemic. After the first online edition of the TEDDY, film programmer Samuel Girma will talk through what challenges and surprises confronted these filmmakers and their award winning films over the course of their festival tour.
Sunday 13 Feb.2022 – 4pm cet TEDDY Talk: Evolving Experimentation Toby Ashraf in conversation with Liz Rosenfeld, Mohammad Shawky Hassan & Gustavo Vinagre For filmmakers who challenge the norm, not just in story, but also in form; we speak with three filmmakers whose works will be presented within Forum and Forum Expanded on the importance of experimentation within Queer Cinema. From the development process to story dictating the form or vice versa. Moreover, the struggles involved in evolving this art form in storytelling.
Sunday 13 Feb 2022– 6pm cet DIRECTORS EXCHANGE: Motivations Nastaran Tajeri-Foumani in conversation with Idan Haguel, Alli Haapasalo & Antonio Marziale Three directors whose works screen within the 72nd Edition of the Berlinale meet and discuss the different motivations behind their respective films. From development through to post production, what role can hot topic issues play in a storyline and a characters motivation? How difficult is it to create complex characters within a socially critical work?
Monday 14 Feb 2022 – 6pm cet Queer Your Program: Online Speedy Film Pitches – (on pre-registration only) Moderator: Bartholomew Sammut Around 25 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.
Monday 14 Feb 2022 – 8pm cet Queer Industry Reception goes Online (on pre-registration only) Moderator: Bartholomew Sammut Introduction: Michael Stütz The annual gathering of industry professionals from the Queer Film Industry, from filmmakers to programmers, to distributors and sales agents. What normally happens in person with a wine in hand and scribbled nametags on shirts, will happen once more online. We shall continue to come together as a community, connect and network, chat about the year we had, the films we look forward to and also to have a little drink and some much needed time together.
The moment we’ve all been waiting for has finally arrived. Our jury has chosen the winners of this year’s TEDDY awards! We’re incredibly happy to present you the following films. And for all those who missed the livestream, here is the ceremony as video on demand
BEST FEATURE LENGTH FILM
MIGUEL’S WAR, Director: Eliane Raheb, Lebanon / Germany/ Spain, 2021
Jury Statement: This creative documentary is the story of a gay man, Miguel, exiled from Lebanon to Spain in the ’80. The strong emotional impact of the film is provoked by the alchemy of both the sharpness of the filmmaker and the genuinity of the protagonist. The excellence of the editing, made of multiple layers – formal and narrative – is an impressive art of the language of cinema to investigate recollection of a gay man who faced traumas, caused by war, xenophobia and homophobia. The extra-ordinary form empowers the storytelling to shine out as an honest self-confrontation with a strong universality regarding being queer, feeling guilty, family, love, migration and self-exile. The whole becomes a mutual experience to share: we are reminded of the power in longing for a queer redemption. If you want to tell a story, tell it like Miguel’s War. You can watch the interview with Eliane Raheb below:
Winner TEDDY JURY AWARD, Yana Ugrekhelidze, Foto: m.s
Jury Statement: This immersive documentary highlights a dramatic situation, which would have stayed untold: the one of Alexander (a Trans man) and his wife Mari in Georgia. The narrative focused on the project of the young couple to escape the oppressive and repressive social and political context. For its intricate way of bringing the urgencies of the Georgian queer community though a personal journey, Instructions for Survival offers both the subjectivity of queer kinship and the cost of being oneself in world that demands your sacrifice rather than letting you be who you are. It shines out not just for its importance for the queer community in Georgia as being a simple and strong survival story, but also with its rather conventional but strikingly direct structure, a sensitive aesthetic and a consistent approach. It is an eyeful success that the camera follows the daily life of the couple very closely over the years by not being intrusive. The film is an essential act of militancy that reminds us with power, that personal is political. The jury hopes that the journey of both Alex and Marie and the film itself be with more and more achievements. You can watch the interview with the director Yana Ugrekhelidze below:
Winner BEST SHORT FILM John Greyson, Foto: Brigitte Dummer
Jury Statement: For its unique and poetic approach to filmmaking during a global crisis, International Dawn Chorus Day reminds us that film, as medium, perhaps is the best way to document the past, the present and the future. Made of trivial video shootings material and a terrific creative idea, the film succeeds in being highly militant and shaking the audience. It raises unique voices to express the common political issues of queer people via the most popular communication tool during a pandemic. Using a surprising and original dramaturgy, that leads the audience to an unexpected point, this short film is a pure masterpiece. It represents a creative, fun and beautifully crafted way of making us remember those who continue to pay the highest price for queer people’s freedom. You can watch the interview with the director below:
In addition to the awards for current films, the TEDDY Foundation also presents the Special TEDDY AWARD for outstanding achievement and long-term service to a figure from the creative industries whose work has made an exceptional contribution to a wide-scale public perception and reception of queer perspectives in art, culture and the media. Previous winners of the Special TEDDY AWARD include Tilda Swinton, Werner Schroeter, Ulrike Ottinger, Monika Treut, John Hurt, Udo Kier, Christine Vachon, Joe Dallesandro, Evita Bezuidenhout, Rosa von Praunheim and Elfi Mikesch.
This year’s Special TEDDY AWARD goes to the film curator, archivist, filmmaker, writer and LGBT film historian Jenni Olson for her decades of bridge-building work with which she has made queer film history visible and tangible.
Jenni Olson’s enthusiasm for the medium of film manifests itself in innumerable ways. She always finds the right instrument with which to put her curiosity and fascination into practice. She fights for the preservation and distribution of cinematic legacies and orphaned film copies, promotes emerging talents and has created her own cinematic oeuvre. She draws on a queer film network she herself has strengthened and expanded over the decades with her collaborations and influence. Jenni Olson embodies, lives and creates queer film culture.
