News - TEDDY AWARD - The Queer Film Award at the Berlin International Film Festival

The Winners of the 40. TEDDY AWARD

Winners — Copyright © Florian Mag © the Estate of Barbara Hammer © Lluís Tudela © ADOK FILMS

After ten intense days of the Berlinale filled with powerful and multifaceted queer cinema, the excitement reaches its peak. In this special year, we celebrate not only outstanding cinematic achievements, but also 40 years of the TEDDY AWARD — four decades of queer cinema, visibility, and artistic courage.

In this anniversary year, awards were presented in the categories Best Feature Film, Best Documentary/Essay Film, Best Short Film, and the Jury Award. They honor works and voices that contribute to and shape queer cinema in compelling and powerful ways.

Now the time has come: the Jury of the 40th TEDDY AWARD has made its selection, and the winners have been decided.

The TEDDY AWARDS go to…

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Iván & Hadoum

Spain, Germany, Belgium | Directed by Ian de la Rosa

In a greenhouse in southern Spain, Iván falls in love with his newly hired co-worker, Hadoum. But his long-awaited promotion interferes with their relationship, forcing Iván to decide what kind of person he wants to be.

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À voix basse I In a Whisper

France, Tunisia | Directed by Leyla Bouzid

Lilia returns to Tunisia for her uncle’s funeral and reunites with a family that knows nothing about her life in Paris, especially her love life. Determined to confront her family’s secrets, Lilia sets out to unravel the mystery of her uncle’s sudden death.

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Feito Pipa I Gugu’s World

Brazil | Directed by Allan Deberton

Gugu, an almost-twelve-year-old boy with football dreams, is raised in the accepting care of his grandmother, Dilma. As she becomes increasingly frail and their world shifts, he struggles to protect the place where he is free to be who he is.

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Iván & Hadoum

Spain, Germany, Belgium | Directed by Ian de la Rosa

In a greenhouse in southern Spain, Iván falls in love with his newly hired co-worker, Hadoum. But his long-awaited promotion interferes with their relationship, forcing Iván to decide what kind of person he wants to be.

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Barbara Forever

United States | Directed by Brydie O'Connor

Lesbian experimental filmmaker Barbara Hammer (1939–2019) was an icon and a pioneer. Infused with dyke poetry, this archive film shows how she lived, loved, worked, fought and inspired, also showing that the private is uncompromisingly political.

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Barbara Forever

United States | Directed by Brydie O'Connor

Lesbian experimental filmmaker Barbara Hammer (1939–2019) was an icon and a pioneer. Infused with dyke poetry, this archive film shows how she lived, loved, worked, fought and inspired, also showing that the private is uncompromisingly political.

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Two Mountains Weighing Down My Chest

Germany, Netherlands | Directed by Viv Li

A Chinese wannabe artist drifts between Berlin’s overwhelming alternative scene and her traditional family in Beijing. With wit and insight, the film follows her search for identity and belonging in a globalised but polarised world.

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What Will I Become?

United States | Directed by Lexie Bean, Logan Rozos

Co-directors Lexie and Logan weave together the stories of two trans boys who died by suicide and their trans masculine+ community, offering resources and imagination for a way forward.

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TAXI MOTO

Switzerland, France | Directed by Gaël Kamilindi

A director has to reimagine his film – a love story between two men – because he was not allowed to shoot it in his home country. In a different location, he finds a new lead actor and, together with him, a tender gesture of resistance.

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Stallion y la bola de cristal I Stallion and a Crystal Ball

Spain | Directed by Christian Avilés

In his dark, silent room, a secluded teenager casts a spell. As hallucinations warp his reality, a bubble threatens to burst. A poetic fever dream exploring queer longing and the magic and mysteries of adolescence.

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TAXI MOTO

Switzerland, France | Directed by Gaël Kamilindi

A director has to reimagine his film – a love story between two men – because he was not allowed to shoot it in his home country. In a different location, he finds a new lead actor and, together with him, a tender gesture of resistance.

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This Suffocating Now

Germany | Directed by Vika Kirchenbauer

At a time when elements of fascisation are becoming ever more apparent, ever more pervasive, artist Vika Kirchenbauer takes a personal look at what is in the air in present-day Germany.

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Der Heimatlose I Trial of Hein

Germany | Directed by Kai Stänicke

When Hein returns to his home village on a remote island after 14 years away, nobody in the close-knit community recognises him. Suspecting the young man to be a stranger, they demand a trial to determine his true identity.