Tag Archives: Queer Film Award

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The DJs of the 39. TEDDY AWARD After Show Party

The TEDDY AWARD ceremony 2025 will not only shine with extraordinary films – we can also expect musical party highlights! We are delighted to introduce you to the DJs who will be creating a great atmosphere this year. Look forward to the unique sets of DJ Trust.The.Girl, DJ Miro Von Berlin and DJ Marie Leão.

DJ Trust.The.Girl

Trust.The.Girl is resident dj in Berlins fabulous queer club SchwuZ. 

She defines herself as an open format dj and loves to play with different genres to bring the dance floor to a boil. 

DJ Miro Von Berlin

Multifaceted artist Miro Von Berlin emerged from Berlin nightlife, driven by cathartic dance floor experiences and desire to create space where the curious ones can wander. Preferred not to be genre-defined or categorized, Miro is elegantly gliding between dance-inducing grooves and cosmic soundscapes, keeping the surprise factor not just for the audience but also for oneself. Whatever the setting may be, one is in for a spellbinding journey when Miro is behind the decks, serving electronic mutations from beyond.
Miro has been honing skills at Berlin’s well-known venues: RSO, About blank, Ohm, Kitkat, Aeden, Oxi, and has played cult queer parties Gegen and Weeeirdos, for latter of which there was also Hör Berlin appearance. Performances also include sets at Glitch and Sonus Festival, adding to a growing presence on the international techno circuit. As a co-creator of party series GRAVE in Croatia, Miro has been meticulously curating line-ups since 2019, inviting established and emerging techno artists – Ellen Allien, Etapp Kyle, Philippa Pacho, Blue Hour, Lolsnake, Deepneue etc.

DJ Marie Leão

Marie Leão is the co-founder and booker of the queer-feminist party-collective ¡MASH-UP! Multigender Multiworld.  

Her musical reach goes from electronic music to pop, from punk to pinky queer tunes, from disco to indie-rock. She also has tons of hits and evergreens on offer. 

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The musical highlights of the 39th TEDDY AWARD Ceremony

The TEDDY AWARD Ceremony 2025 will introduce you to outstanding artists whose music and performances will celebrate the diversity and creativity of the queer art scene.

Mariybu

She is the queen bee of German hyperpop: The Berlin-based artist Mariybu has made a name for herself in recent years as a visionary singer and producer, as well as an empowering role model, far beyond the queer scene. Sometimes strong and combative, sometimes sweet and playful, but always unapologetically herself — this is how the musician presents herself on stage. The fact that she also makes space for other female and genderqueer talents (e.g. jolle, Angel Rider, Lil’ Lil’) perfectly sums up Mariybu’s artistic DNA: It’s about mutual empowerment in an industry that still gives FLINTA* individuals too little space. While Mariybu may be a self-producing artist with a freshly founded independent label, she doesn’t just break down the walls of the industry for herself — but always also for others.
Mariybu released her album “ein tag göttin” on February 14, 2025, which captures the atmosphere of the vibrant Berlin nights. It’s about escapism & ecstasy, queerness, and breaking down patriarchal structures. Musically, it falls within the realm of technoid hyperpop with rave-pop elements. Starting in April 2025, Mariybu will be on tour with her album. Tickets are available at Mariybu-shop.de.

Please note: We are very sad to announce the cancellation of Ebow’s upcoming performance due to illness. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. Thank you for your understanding, and we hope to see them back on stage soon. Get well soon!

Jade Pearl Baker & The Pearls

Jade Pearl Baker & The Pearls sing an anthem to Berlin’s drag culture.

Jade Pearl Baker, “Berlin’s most exciting drag voice”, is the star of the queer Berlin revue DRAG.GLAM.BERLIN. at Berlin’s BKA Theater together with her three “Pearls”. In 2017, she caused a nationwide sensation with her goosebump-inducing performances on the Pro7 show The Voice of Germany. In recent years, she has impressed in a wide variety of stage productions, including as one of the protagonists in Bastian Kraft’s play Ugly Ducklings, which has been celebrated far beyond the queer community since 2019.

Jade Pearl Baker, whose drag career began at the BKA Theater, is now celebrating great success there with DRAG.GLAM.BERLIN. in her first full-length show. She is supported in her dancing and singing by three brilliant drag colleagues, the “Pearls”. Her first single, which she will present at the Teddy Award, also comes from this revue:

“Celebrate the Queens” is a party anthem with political aspirations. The song celebrates Berlin’s legendary drag culture, but is also a warning. 

Jade Pearl Baker:“Berlin drags, no matter what they called themselves, have changed our society and continue to do so today. But the wind is getting rougher again for queer people – we can feel that in Berlin too. The reactionary forces that are attacking liberal societies worldwide have chosen drag queens as a target for their fight. We have to fight back against this, we all have to protect our drag culture together. And the best way to do that is by celebrating it.”

“Celebrate the Queens” was written by Johannes Kram and Florian Ludewig, who are also the authors of the long-running operetta for two gay tenors, which also premiered at the BKA Theater. DRAG.GLAM.BERLIN. is back on the program there from 4 June.

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Barbara Hammer

Barbara Hammer (1939–2019) was a groundbreaking pioneer of lesbian cinema and is considered one of the most important experimental filmmakers of her generation. Her works revolutionized the portrayal of lesbian bodies and love in film and remain an essential part of queer cinema today. Over the course of her career, she was honored with three TEDDY AWARDS.


This year’s Berlinale Forum Expanded will showcase three of her films: A Horse is Not a Metaphor, Maya Deren’s Sink, and Generations. Her early short films, including Dyketactics and Menses (both from 1974), are now regarded as classics of queer cinema.


Over five decades, the activist filmmaker not only created groundbreaking works but also dedicated herself as a mentor, teacher, and advocate for young filmmakers. Her works have been exhibited in galleries and museums worldwide. After her cancer diagnosis in 2006, Hammer radically integrated her illness into her artistic practice, creating deeply moving works on the subject of mortality.
Barbara Hammer was a trailblazer in the male-dominated world of experimental cinema, bringing queer perspectives into both feminist and cinematic discourse. In the 1980s, she explored abstract forms and worked with found footage, writing a manifesto on the “politics of abstraction,” which emphasized the formal queerness of cinema.
With Nitrate Kisses in the 1990s, she delved into the queer archive and created one of her most significant feature-length films. She explored the fragile traces of queer life before Stonewall and countered the invisibility of these stories with powerful imagery. Her work became a living archive of queer memory—and an enduring inspiration for future generations.

A Horse Is Not a Metaphor (2008)

A Horse Is Not a Metaphor, Copyright: Berlinale
A Horse Is Not a Metaphor, Copyright: Berlinale

Filmmaker Barbara Hammer fights ovarian cancer with visions of horseback riding and river swimming in her experimental film, A Horse Is Not a Metaphor.  

As a “cancer thriver” rather than “survivor,” Barbara Hammer rides the red hills of Georgia O’Keefe’s Ghost Ranch in New Mexico, the grassy foothills of the Big Horn in Wyoming, and leafy paths in Woodstock, New York, changing illness into recovery. 

The haunting and wondrous music of Meredith Monk underscores and celebrates in this experiential/experimental film that lifts us up when we might be most discouraged. 

Maya Deren’s Sink (2010)

Maya Deren’s Sink, Copyright: Berlinale
Maya Deren’s Sink, Copyright: Berlinale

This evocative tribute to the mother of American avant-garde film calls forth the spirit of one who was larger than life, as recounted by those who knew her. Friends and contemporaries float through Maya Deren’s homes, recalling in tiny bits and pieces words of her architectural and personal interior space. Clips from Deren’s films are projected back into the spaces where they were originally filmed. Fluid light projections of intimate space provide an elusive agency for a filmmaker most of us will never know.

Generations  (2011)

Generations, Copyright: Berlinale
Generations, Copyright: Berlinale

Generations is a film about mentoring and passing on the tradition of personal experimental filmmaking. Barbara Hammer, 70 years old, hands the camera to Gina Carducci (today Joey Carducci), a young queer filmmaker. Shooting during the last days of the amusement park Astroland at Coney Island, New York, they find that the inevitable fact of ageing echoes in the architecture of the amusement park and in the emulsion of the film medium itself. Editing completely separately both picture and sound, the filmmakers join their films in the middle when they’ve finished, making a true generational and experimental experiment. 

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6th of February 2025: Introduction to the Queer Films

For all those who would like to find out about the queer films of the 75th Berlin International Film Festival in advance, the head of the Panorama section, Michael Stütz, and program managers from the Berlinale sections will present their films in the running for the 39th TEDDY AWARD and provide initial insights into current topics and trends in queer cinema. 
 The traditional kick-off event for the TEDDY AWARD is supported by the SchwuZ Queer Foundation.  Here you can find more information.

Venue: 

SchwuZ Queer Club 
Rollbergstraße 26 
12053 Berlin  

Time: 

06.02.2025, admission 7pm, start 8pm 
 
Admission for a voluntary donation to the SchwuZ Queer Foundation.
The introduction will be in English.

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The Jury of the 39th TEDDY AWARD

We are pleased to present the international jury for the 39th TEDDY AWARD. Three experienced film and festival professionals will view all films with a queer main plot from the Berlinale’s Queerlist, nominate three films in each category and select the winning films in the categories Best Feature Film, Best Short Film and Best Documentary / Essay Film. They also present the TEDDY Jury Award.

Allegra Madsen ©Allegra Madsen
Allegra Madsen ©Allegra Madsen

Allegra Madsen

(Pronouns: she/her)
Frameline, San Francisco International LGBTQ+ Film Festival
Executive Director & Programmer

Allegra Madsen leads the Frameline, San Francisco International LGBTQ+ Film Festival as Executive Director and Programmer. Since joining Frameline in 2021, she has expanded the festival’s reach and impact, bringing groundbreaking queer cinema to diverse audiences. Her commitment to inclusive cultural programming has strengthened connections between communities through the power of film, with a particular focus on emerging LGBTQ+ voices and transgressive narratives. Under her leadership, she has built valuable partnerships with international film festivals and cultural institutions while advocating for accessible programming that inspires meaningful cultural dialogue. Madsen is a sought-after speaker at forums around the world when it comes to the future of queer cinema.

Jan Künemund ©Nadja Klier
Jan Künemund ©Nadja Klier

Jan Künemund

(Pronouns: he/him)
DOK Leipzig
Programmer

Jan Künemund, freelance film journalist, curator and full-time agent, lives in Berlin, has worked for a cinema distributor and taught media studies at the University of Hildesheim, edited the queer cinema magazine “Sissy”, co-wrote the screenplay for his feature film “Lichtes Meer” (2004) with Stefan Butzmühlen, is a member of the selection committee of DOK Leipzig and public relations worker for the Schwules Museum. He also writes reviews and other texts about film, e.g. he was co-editor of “Queer Cinema Now” (2022).

Raul Niño Zambrano ©Raul Niño Zambrano
Raul Niño Zambrano ©Raul Niño Zambrano

Raul Niño Zambrano

(Pronouns: he/him)
Sheffield DocFest
Creative Director

Raul Niño Zambrano has been Creative Director of Sheffield DocFest since 2023. At Sheffield DocFest, Raul has spearheaded the launch of TV documentary series premieres, the innovative Podcast Pitch and most recently the creation of the Queer Realities Director’s Lab, designed to push and inspire creative boundaries in queer non-fiction storytelling.
Prior to that, he was a Senior Programmer at IDFA (International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam). During his thirteen-year tenure at IDFA, Raul conducted the groundbreaking study The Female Gaze (2014), which explored the role of women in documentary filmmaking, and launched IFDA Queer Day in 2013. An active member of the documentary community, Raul has served as a juror for numerous prestigious international festivals as well as sharing his expertise as a tutor and industry mentor at renowned events such as Al Jazeera Documentary Industry Days, FESPACO, DMZ and the Bogotá Audiovisual Market.

Introduction of the TEDDY Jury