The Teddy Award is an international film award for films with LGBT topics, presented by an independent jury as an official award of the Berlin International Film Festival (the Berlinale). For the most part, the jury consists of organisers of gay and lesbian film festivals, who view films screened in all sections of the Berlinale; films do not have to have been part of the festival's official competition stream to be eligible for Teddy awards. Subsequently, a list of films meeting criteria for LGBT content is selected by the jury, and a 3,000-Euro Teddy is awarded to a feature film, a short film and a documentary.
At the 66th Berlin International Film Festival in 2016, a dedicated "Teddy30" lineup of classic LGBT-related films was screened as a full program of the festival to celebrate the award's 30th anniversary.
In 1987 German filmmakers Wieland Speck[1] and Manfred Salzgeber formed a jury called the International Gay & Lesbian Film Festival Association (IGLFFA) to create an award for LGBT films. It was originally named the Teddy Bear Award, in accordance with the Berlinale's main awards being named as the Golden and Silver Bear; the name was later shortened to Teddy Award, although the statuette presented to winners is still shaped like a teddy bear.
The awards were originally founded in a gay bookshop in West Berlin, they were named after the cuddly toys which were sent as prizes to the winners.
They were then upgraded to metal trophies but are still thought to be a deliberate parody of the main Berlin Film Festival’s Golden Bear trophy.[2]
1990 was the first bigger festival in the LGBT centrum SchwuZ in Berlin with around 400 guests. The evening was organized from BeV StroganoV and workers of the bookstore Eisenherz in Berlin. In 1992 the award was officially made part of the Berlin International Film Festival. In 1997 TEDDY e.V., a non-profit organisation was founded, which lobbied the award.
Winners
Pedro Almodóvar won Best Feature Film at the inaugural ceremony in 1987 for Law of Desire.Two short films directed by Gus Van Sant, My New Friend and Five Ways to Kill Yourself, won the first Best Short Film award in 1987.Derek Jarman won four times during his lifetime, including the Best Feature Film winners The Last of England (1987) and Wittgenstein (1993). A Special Award in honor of his legacy was given in 2008.Tilda Swinton received the Jury Award in 1988. Starring in many films directed by Jarman, she was one of the 2008 Special Award recipients in honor of his legacy.Canadian director John Greyson has won five times, including two in the Best Documentary/Essay Film categories for Urinal (1989) and Fig Trees (2009).Rosa von Praunheim won the Jury Award for Silence = Death in 1990 and was honored with the Special Award in 2014.Directed by Tom Kalin, Swoon won the first Audience Award in 1992.Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman have won twice in the Best Documentary Film category for their collaboration on The Celluloid Closet (1996) and Paragraph 175 (2000).Romy Haag, the first individual Special Award winner in 1997.Three of Barbara Hammer films have won in the Best Short Film category: A Horse Is Not a Metaphor in 2009, Generations and Maya Deren's Sink in 2011.Małgorzata Szumowska's In the Name Of won Best Feature Film and Reader Award in 2013Ayat Najafi, co-director of Football Under Cover, won Best Documentary Film and Audience Award in 2008Isaac Julien won Best Feature Film for Looking for Langston in 1989, and a Special Award in honor of Jarman in 2008Constantine Giannaris won Best Short Film for Trojans (1990) and Caught Looking (1992)Sébastien Lifshitz won Best Feature Film for Wild Side (2004), and Best Documentary Film for Bambi (2013)Monika Treut won the 1999 Jury Award for Gendernauts: A Journey Through Shifting Identities, and the 2017 Special Award
The Teddy Award is divided into three primary categories: Best Feature Film, Short Film, and Documentary Film. The jury picks three nominations within each category and ultimately selects one as the winner. As of 2012, the cash prize for the winners in these categories has been valued at a maximum of €3,000.[3] The prize is intended to support various aspects of the winning films, such as financing film copies, subtitling, or advertising materials.[3] In 2007, the jury decided not to grant an award in the Short Film category because the submitted films lacked adequate LGBT content.[AR 1] The Documentary and Essay Film categories were introduced in 1988 and were combined in several ceremonies between 2009 and 2020.
One other film is singled out for a Jury Award. A Special Award is commonly, but not always, given to one or more individuals for a distinguished achievement in LGBT cinema, such as a lifetime career achievement as a director or performer or for a person's role in a project of significance to the history of LGBT cinema.
The German LGBT magazine Siegessäule formerly sponsored an award that was given to a film selected by a panel of the magazine's readers. This was discontinued after 2012, but was reinstituted in 2016 under the new sponsorship of the magazine Männer; in 2017, the award was named the Harvey in honour of Harvey Milk.
Other categories include the Activist Award (2020),[AR 2] Social Spots (2007),[AR 1] David Kato Vision & Voice Award (2014–2015),[AR 3][AR 4] and Newcomer Award (2018).
Table key
‡
Indicates Best Feature Film winners
†
Indicates individual winners
List of films, with original titles, directors, and production countries
^ abcdThe 2007 Jury did not select a finalist for Best Short Film due to the lack of LGBT representation in the submissions. Instead, the Jury recognized Security Camera and Love Hurts, two public service announcements about mutual respect, in the Social Spots category. These announcements were produced by the MANEO Stop Violence Against Gays Project.
^ abCambodian transgender activist Sou Sotheavy received the 2014 David Kato Vision and Voice Award for her effort to establish a national network of organizations to support the LGBT community in her native country.
^ abKier received the 2015 Special Award for setting the standard for nonstereotypical male characters and his exceptional filmography.
^Swinton received the 1988 Jury Award for her performance in The Last of England, her venture into experimental films and dedication to LGBT-related films.[6]
^Tartaglia and the Plaster Foundation received the 1996 Special Jury Prize for the preservation of the celluloid works of Jack Smith, a pioneer of queer underground cinema. The award was given to celebrate Teddy Award's 10th year anniversary.
^ abcdeThe 1999 Jury Award was given to all five German LGBT-related films in the competition due to their exceptional quality and diversity: Aimée & Jaguar, Lola and Billy the Kid, Gendernauts: A Journey Through Shifting Identities, Piglets, NY'NY 'n Why Not. Speck accepted this award on the films' behalf.
^de Hadeln received the 2001 Special Award for his relentless support of LGBT-related films, and for acknowledging the Teddy Award as an official award of the Berlinale in 1992.
^ abThe 2001 Jury made Special Mention of two films: Chop Suey for its daring exploration and Weber's unique vision as a photographer; and The Iron Ladies for its engaging true-life story of a gay and transexual volleyball team.
^The 2004 Special Award was given to Edition Salzgeber, a German-based film distributor, for its outstanding LGBT-related work and its founder Manfred Salzgeber (1943–1994).
^La León received the 2007 Special Mention for its outstanding cinematography in portraying an isolated existence in Argentina.
^ abAt the 2008 ceremony, two Special Awards were given: one for Stempel and Ripkens for their career achievements as film critics and filmmakers; one for Collins, Turner, Julien, Mackay, and Swinton for looking after the heritage of British filmmaker Derek Jarman.
^ abAt the 2009 ceremony, two Special Awards were given: one to Dallesandro for his career achievements as an underground actor, and Hurt for his acting performance in An Englishman In New York.
^Schroeter received the 2010 Special Award for his outstanding work as an opera director, one of the leading filmmakers of the New German Cinema movement, and his influence on gay culture.
^Uys received the 2011 Special Award for his commitment to AIDS education in South Africa and his stage alter ego Evita Bezuidenhoud.
^ abAt the 2012 ceremony, two Special Awards were given: one to Ottinger for her exceptional contribution to the German cinema, and Montez for his theatre work and collaboration with directors Jack Smith, Andy Warhol, and Ron Rice.
^STEPS for the Future, a South African film project, received the Special Award for its commitment to HIV education.
^ abAt the 2014 ceremony, two Special Awards were given: one to Praunheim for his emotional and socially conscious films, and Mikesch for her challenging work as a photographer, filmmaker, and camerawomen.
^HIV-positive activist Tholanah received the 2015 David Kato Vision & Voice Award for her support to the LGBTI community in Zimbabwe.
^Vachon received the 2016 Special Award for creating Killer Films, a film production company, and her LGBT-related work as a film producer.
^Treut received the 2017 Special Award for her contribution to independent filmmaking, as one of the pioneers of the New Queer Cinema.
^Richter received the 2019 Special Award for his outstanding work as a theatre director and an activist, as well as his influence to the queer and cosmopolitan cinema.
^Olson received the 2021 Special Award for her achievements in filmmaking, film preservation, and her influence in queer film culture.
For the 2012 Reader Award winner, see: "Teddy and Else went to..."Siegessäule (in German). Berlin. 18 February 2012. Archived from the original on 29 July 2019. Retrieved 28 July 2019.
For the 2014 Reader Award winner, see: Schock, Axel (18 February 2014). "Bye bye Raumschiff Berlinale" [Bye bye spaceship Berlinale]. Siegessäule (in German). Archived from the original on 19 March 2022. Retrieved 28 July 2019.
Hermann, Frank (18 February 2017). "Die Teddy Awards 2017" [The Teddy Awards 2017]. Siegessäule (in German). Archived from the original on 22 March 2022. Retrieved 28 July 2019.
For the 2018 Reader Award winner, see: Busse, Martin (23 February 2018). "Der TEDDY Award der Mannschaft Readers' Jury geht an..." [The TEDDY Award from the Readers' Jury team goes to...]. Mannschaft (in German). Archived from the original on 23 March 2022. Retrieved 23 February 2018.
For the 2019 Reader Award winner, see: "Wir wollen mehr solche Filme sehen!" [We want to see more movies like this!]. Queer.de. 16 February 2019. Archived from the original on 23 March 2022. Retrieved 28 July 2019.
For the 2020 Reader Award winner, see: "Unsere Jury über 'Futur Drei': So geht Kino heute!" [Our jury on 'Futur Drei': This is how cinema works today!]. Queer.de. 29 February 2020. Archived from the original on 29 March 2022. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
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