Teddy Award Berlin - Der queere Filmpreis

The pictorial depiction of gays and lesbians in American culture is a modern-day achievement – the result of gay and lesbian movements in the last third of the previous century. Up to that point, depictions of gay and lesbian life were considered taboo; and whenever they did appear, it was largely a question of stereotyping. Nowadays, queer images are to be found everywhere. Lisa Ades’ and Lesli Klainberg’s documentary describes how this change has come about, and how we [...] more

Although fiftyish Tibor is still attractive, his days as a successful screenwriter - if you could ever have called him that - are over. His wife was once a well-known actor and is still a beautiful woman. However, the only roles she gets nowadays are in provincial theatres. The couple's career prospects look bleak; their relationship has come to a dead end and only the fear of getting older forces them to keep up the appearance of a happy marriage. This makes Tibor easy prey for a boy who [...] more

Bahman Mohassess was a celebrated artist at the time of the Shah. Trained in Italy, he created sculptures and paintings in his homeland. But audiences often took offence at the pronounced phalli on his mostly naked bronze figures and his work was regularly censored. All traces of him were lost after the revolution. It was said he destroyed his remaining paintings and disappeared. Mitra Farahani, who began her career as a painter, finds Mohassess in a hotel in Rome. The old man is flattered by [...] more

An operatic documentary about the struggle of two Aids activists – Canadian Tim McCaskell and South African Zackie Achmat. Both have fought tooth and nail for the provision of anti-retroviral drugs to treat Aids. In John Greyson’s film they are ably supported by Gertrude Stein, a singing albino squirrel, and St. Teresa of Ávila. FIG TREES is nonetheless based on true stories. Tim McCaskell has spent more than twenty years fighting Aids and addressing the concerns of gay men. [...] more

Andriy Krystiyan, or A. K. for short, has come to England from the Ukraine. A. K. is a philosopher (at least that’s what he claims to be), a poet, and an authority on all aspects of life. At the same time, he is following his grand plan to become an international star. Global stardom is how A. K. describes the goal that he and his band Gogol Bordello are pursuing with their particular brand of boisterous gypsy punk. For the time being, however, he makes ends meet by performing role play [...] more

When female impersonator Victor catches cold and loses his voice, the youngElizabethstands in for him. The British remake of Viktor und Viktoria is a revue film with many song-and-dance routines and considerable visual appeal. more

Two years ago, Nora and Solveig’s five-year-old son, Vetle, died on a mountain hike. Their grief over his death has weighed heavily on their relationship ever since. For Nora, the child’s biological mother, the pain of her loss has caused her to become increasingly bitter. Although Solveig loved Vetle just as much, Nora begins to question the sincerity of Solveig’s grief. The boy’s death has changed Solveig and she now finds that she can’t imagine a life without a [...] more

Teheran in April 2006. Iran’s national women’s team and a local Berlin women’s football team are playing their first official friendly match – before a crowd of more than a thousand cheering women. The atmosphere at the stadium is electric and super-charged with girl power. Outside the stadium, a few men peer through the fencing, trying to catch a glimpse of the proceedings, because today, men are barred from the game. Although their only desire was to play football [...] more

This film tells the story of two women lovers named Nongoma and Tsitsi who live in the country in Zimbabwe. Lesbian relationships are very much taboo in Zimbabwe and, when their secret affair is discovered, Nongoma is obliged to run away from her village and escape to the city. Meanwhile, Tsitsi’s family are convinced she is possessed by an evil spirit. Two years later, the two women meet again by chance in Mutare . . . more

Bertolt Brecht was one of his admirers, as was Charlie Chaplin and Sergei Eisenstein, who even filmed him. Chinese actor and singer Mei Lanfang (1894 –1961) was one of Peking opera’s most significant performers and innovators. His performances helped considerably to popularise Peking opera in the West. His life unfolds in this opulent period drama. Mei Lanfang was born into a family that had performed Peking opera for generations. Like his grandfather Mei Qiaoling before him, [...] more

The first time can be really hard, especially when you feel you've got something to prove to your mates. Alex and the others hang out at the beach, chatting and bragging. He tries to get closer to Sofia with a joke she finds totally unfunny. Nevertheless they go off together. A first awkward kiss, they lie in the grass, zips get undone. They both want something to happen but it simply doesn't work out. Nevermind, they think, but what will they tell the others? more

After serving time in prison, Francine settles down in small-town North America. Through a series of temporary jobs, she tries to regain a foothold in society. However, this security proves just as elusive as the connections she tries to forge with people in the town. As her human relationships falter, Francine looks to animals for support, a development that leads her in a tragically wrong direction. Brian M. Cassidy and Melanie Shatzky’s fiction debut FRANCINE focuses on the title figure [...] more

Twelve year old Greg inherited the competitive spirit of his father. During a family vacation, both have the chance to express their differences. While the father pushes the son into a swim contest, Greg prefers to practice at playing telephone pranks and dressing in drag. The father is hoping mad about Greg‘s passion, but Greg tries at reconciliation by entering a beauty contest for women. The film is based on a true story. more

This documentary tells the story of three grandmothers who earn a living as prostitutes. Christel, Paula and Karolina either work in their own apartment, in a brothel, or receive clients at a dominatrix studio. They have no desire to justify what they do, nor do they make a show of their profession. These three women are engaged in a constant merry-go-round of slipping into different identities, selling dreams and trying to manage their own private life. Their multifaceted personalities make it [...] more

Marc is shaken to the core when he meets a fellow police officer, Kay, on a trainingcourse and begins to develop feelings for him. When Kay asks to be transferred to Marc’s unit, his well-arranged life begins to sink into chaos. Torn between his love forhis pregnant girlfriend Bettina and the rush of a completely new experience, his life begins to spin increasingly out of control. He soon finds himself increasinglye stranged from his family, but running away with Kay is not an option. When [...] more

In 1997, a man was convicted for having sex with an underage boy. Two months before his sixteenth birthday, the boy in question had responded to an advert the man had placed in the personals. The boy was exactly 56 days too young. According to Norwegian law, sex is legal from the age of sixteen. As the film’s director, Jacobsen, comments: “The details of what happened were probably nothing to be particularly proud of, but what amazes me is the way this case made so many people scream [...] more

A man finds that friendship and understanding can span many boundaries - age, politics, and gender preference among them - in this comedy-drama from Cuba. David is a student and ardent Communist whose personal life is in something of a slump; his girlfriend recently left him to marry another man after he took her to a hotel in hopes of seducing her, and she announced that she couldn't believe anyone could make love in such an ugly room. One day, David stops by the park and gets some ice cream, [...] more

Fritz Bauer was probably the most renowned state prosecutor the Federal Republic has ever had. He saw himself as a ‘lawyer out of a sense of freedom’ and was convinced that the nation’s citizens had the right to resist against state acts of an arbitrary nature. He was prepared to stand up for this right in 1952/53 as Attorney General for Lower Saxony in a spectacular trial regarding the legitimacy of the coup of 20 July, 1944. Bauer succeeded in rehabilitating the executed conspirators. [...] more

Åmål is a sleepy little town in Sweden and just about the most boring place on earth or, as Elin says in her inimitable fashion - „fucking Åmål!“ Agnes ist about to turn sixteen. She came here with her parents and her younger brother one-and-a-half years ago. She’s not been able to make any friends yet and, to top it all, at school she has to sit next to a girl in a wheelchair. Agnes has been in love with Elin, the blond-haired rebel of the school, for [...] more

What do construction workers do in their well-earned breaks? How might Angelina Jolie's and Brad Pitt's relationship have ended? And what really happened between Marilyn Monroe and Joan Crawford during the summer of 1959? In the portmanteau film FUCKING DIFFERENT NEW YORK, answers to these and many other interesting questions are provided by twelve queer New York filmmakers. Their films also scrutinise such topics as the difference between the way men and women dream, and how erotic [...] more

This is the fourth film of the conceptual series FUCKING DIFFERENT (after: FUCKING DIFFERENT!, FUCKING DIFFERENT NEW YORK, FUCKING DIFFERENT TEL AVIV), produced by Kristian Petersen. The filmmakers from São Paulo developed their projects in a script workshop during the 16th Mix Brasil Festival. The Brazilian version contains a variety of interesting genres. There are twelve stories in which women address the gay world and men address the lesbian universe. In DEPOIS DO ALMOÇO, [...] more

The third installment of the conceptual series FUCKING DIFFERENT (the first was shot in Berlin, FUCKING DIFFERENT!; and the second in New York, FUCKING DIFFERENT NEW YORK), this anthology of 12 short films aims to provide a cross-over assessment of queer sexuality in contemporary Tel-Aviv, from the perspective of 15 gay and lesbian filmmakers based in Israel's cultural capital. As in the previous compilation, lesbian directors were asked to make short films depicting their views of gay sexuality [...] more

Fifteen queer crossovers: lesbian filmmakers from Berlin were asked to make a short film about their idea of male gay love and sexuality and, vice-versa, gay men were given the task of making a short film about lesbian sexuality and eroticism. All genres – animation, documentary, drama – were allowed. Filmmakers were also given a free hand in deciding which form their films would take – either experimental or conventional. The only parameters to which they were required [...] more

Chronicling a single week in the life of Buddy, FUN DOWN THERE is one of the early gay films produced after the arrival of the AIDS epidemic and is a refreshingly uncomplicated view of coming out and coming of age. The morning after Buddy’s sister discovers his copy of 'Playgirl', Buddy sneaks away to New York. Shortly after his arrival, he experiences his first sexual encounter. His partner, Joseph, takes Buddy under his wing and provides him with the Big City essentials: a hotel [...] more