Tag Archives: special TEDDY AWARD

Special TEDDY AWARD goes to Jenni Olson

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.

Special TEDDY AWARD goes to Falk Richter

This year’s Special TEDDY AWARD goes to the director and playwright Falk Richter.

“For the emancipatory work of the performing arts, Falk Richter’s theatre has produced the most convincing contemporary works. The combination of aesthetic and analytical communication, with the prominent inclusion of works by video artists such as Chris Kondek, Michel Auder and Björn Melhus, also contributes to the inspiration of current film-making.The TEDDY Foundation awards the Special TEDDY AWARD to Falk Richter as an activist from whom we hope to receive lasting impulses for the future of queer and cosmopolitan cinema”. Wieland Speck Chairman of the TEDDY Foundation 

Falk Richter (*1969) is one of the most important contemporary theatre directors and playwrighters. His plays are all highly topical and are performed in more than 35 languages worldwide. For over two decades his texts have been staged on the most renowned international and national stages, such as the Festival d’Avignon, Toneelgroep Amsterdam, Burgtheater Vienna, Théâtre National de Bruxelles, Königliches Dramaten Stockholm, Melbourne Theatre Compagny, Schauspielhaus Zürich, Salzburger  Festspiele, Théatre National Strasbourg, Deutsches Schauspielhaus Hamburg, Schaubühne Berlin, Maxim Gorki Theater and the Ruhrtriennale.

His most famous and successful texts include “Gott ist ein DJ”, “Electronic City”, “Unter Eis”, “TRUST”, “FEAR” and “Je suis Fassbinder”. With the production “Am Königsweg” (2017) by Elfriede Jelinek, Falk Richter and the Deutsches Schauspielhaus Hamburg were invited to the Berlin  Theatertreffen, the most important contemporary meeting of theatres in the German-speaking world.

The specialist journal “Theater heute” voted Falk Richter “Director of the Year” in 2018. At the beginning of 2019, Falk Richter received the highest French cultural award from the French government and was named Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.

The special TEDDY Award 2017 goes to Monika Treut

The Special TEDDY Award goes to a filmmaker who contributed extraordinary merits for the characterization of queer film making over the years. Last year the US American producer Cristine Vachon received this award.

Monika Treut coined as an director, producer and writer not only the feminist and lesbian cinema since the 80´s, but also the german-speaking independent film scene and inspired as an pioneer the New Queer Cinema to the US American Indie film. The courageousness and the critical approach of her topics and asthetics are closely related to the liberating energies of the Mao-Spontex movement of the 70´s. Her documentary Gendernauts won the TEDDY-Award in 1999 as Best Documentary and audience awards all over the world.

Since her feature film debut with Elfi Mikesch, Verführung: Die grausame Frau, more then 12 of her movies have been presented at the Berlinale.

On the occasion of the award ceremony within the 31st TEDDY Awards, Panorama shows her second feature film, the classic die Jungfrauenmaschine from 1989.

Udo Kier – A perfect piece of art

Madonna once called him a meanman. He plays his characters without any inhibition and a lot of passion. He is completely absorbed in his roles. Udo Kier, who never visited a classic drama school and is living in Palm Springs today, can look back on a 50 years career. We honor the man who phones his dogs, when he is travellling, with this year’s Special TEDDY AWARD.

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