The 39th Teddy Awards, the Berlin International Film Festival’s prestigious LGBTQ+ honors, celebrated both emerging talents and seasoned pioneers in queer cinema.
The best feature film accolade went to Lesbian Space Princess, directed by Leela Varghese and Emma Hough Hobbs. This animated comedy follows Princess Saira on an “inter-gay-lactic” mission to rescue her ex-girlfriend from the clutches of the “Straight White Maliens.”
In the best documentary/essay film category, 82-year-old queer cinema pioneer Rosa von Praunheim took top honors for his autobiographical doc-fiction mash-up Satanische Sau (Satanic Sow). The film features von Praunheim as the titular “satanic sow,” portrayed by actor Armin Dallapiccola, in an exploration of the director’s wild journey through fame, faith, and family, and his confrontation with death.
The jury award was presented to Wenn du Angst hast nimmst du dein Herz in den Mund und lächelst (If You Are Afraid You Put Your Heart into Your Mouth and Smile), directed by Marie Luise Lehner. The film portrays twelve-year-old Anna, who comes from a working-class family, navigating societal shame and personal growth as she tries to find her place and her own identity among her classmates in a posh city school.
Lesley Loksi Chan’s Lloyd Wong, Unfinished received the best short film award. The documentary revisits video footage shot by Chinese-Canadian artist Lloyd Wong, who chronicled his experience living with HIV in the 1990s. Wong died before finishing his film. Chan discovered his footage 30 years later.
A special lifetime achievement Teddy Award went to Todd Haynes (Far From Heaven, Carol), president of this year’s Berlinale international jury and a trailblazer in the new queer cinema movement of the 1980s and 90s. Haynes won the Teddy back in 1991 for his feature debut, Poison, which premiered in Berlin.
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