The Teddy Award is an international
film award
Film award is a cinematic award which can be awarded in several categories. Unlike the film festival, the film award is not accompanied by a public screening of competitive films. Film awards are usually awarded based on the results of a secret vot ...
for films with
LGBT
' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity.
The LGBT term is a ...
topics, presented by an independent jury as an official award of the
Berlin International Film Festival
The Berlin International Film Festival (german: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), usually called the Berlinale (), is a major international film festival held annually in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festi ...
(the Berlinale). In 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
The 66th Berlin International Film Festival was held from 11 to 21 February 2016, with American actress Meryl Streep as the President of the Jury. The Honorary Golden Bear for lifetime achievement was presented to German cinematographer Michael ...
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.
History
![Teddy Award Schroeter Schwules Museum 2016](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5d/Teddy_Award_Schroeter_Schwules_Museum_2016.jpg)
In 1987 German filmmakers
Wieland Speck
Wieland Speck (* 1951 in Freiburg im Breisgau) is a German film director, who since 1992 has coordinated "Panorama" at the International Filmfestival Berlin (Berlinale). Panorama showcases new films by established directors, as well as debut work ...
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
A teddy bear is a stuffed toy in the form of a bear. Developed apparently simultaneously by toymakers Morris Michtom in the U.S. and Richard Steiff under his aunt Margarete Steiff's company in Germany in the early 20th century, the teddy bear, ...
.
The first Teddy Award was given to
Pedro Almodóvar
Pedro Almodóvar Caballero (; (often known simply as Almodóvar) born 25 September 1949) is a Spanish filmmaker. His films are marked by melodrama, irreverent humour, bold colour, glossy décor, quotations from popular culture, and complex narr ...
for his film ''
La ley del deseo
''Law of Desire'' ( es, link=no, La ley del deseo) is a 1987 Spanish comedy thriller film written and directed by Pedro Almodóvar. Starring Eusebio Poncela as Pablo, Carmen Maura as Tina and Antonio Banderas as Antonio. It was the first film Al ...
'', which featured
Antonio Banderas
José Antonio Domínguez Bandera (born 10 August 1960), known professionally as Antonio Banderas, is a Spanish actor and singer. Known for his work in films of several genres, he has received List of awards and nominations received by Antonio Ba ...
.
The awards were originally founded in a gay bookshop in
West Berlin
West Berlin (german: Berlin (West) or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin during the years of the Cold War. Although West Berlin was de jure not part of West Germany, lacked any sovereignty, and was under mi ...
, 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
The Berlin International Film Festival (german: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), usually called the Berlinale (), is a major international film festival held annually in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festi ...
’s
Golden Bear trophy.
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
A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...
was founded, which lobbied the award.
Categories
There are three main categories in which the award is given:
*
feature film
A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...
* documentary
*
short film
A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...
One additional 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 career lifetime 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 formerly sponsored an award which 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 ; in 2017, the award was named the Harvey in honour of
Harvey Milk
Harvey Bernard Milk (May 22, 1930 – November 27, 1978) was an American politician and the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in California, as a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. Milk was born and raised in N ...
.
Winners
Notes
Award reasonale
Other nominees
See also
*
Frameline Audience Award for Best Feature, an award of the
Frameline Film Festival
The Frameline Film Festival (aka San Francisco International LGBTQ+ Film Festival) (formerly San Francisco International LGBT Film Festival; San Francisco International Lesbian and Gay Film Festival) began as a storefront event in 1976. The first ...
*
Queer Lion
The Queer Lion is the trophy awarded yearly since 2007 to the “Best Movie with LGBT Themes & Queer Culture” among those presented during the Venice International Film Festival.David Opie"Venice Film Festival: A Guide To Every Queer Lion Award ...
, an award of the
Venice International Film Festival
The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival ( it, Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica della Biennale di Venezia, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival he ...
*
Queer Palm, an award of the
Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films o ...
*
Sebastiane Award Sebastiane Award is a prize delivered in September, since 2000, to a film or documentary screened during the San Sebastián International Film Festival that best reflects the values and reality of lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transgender people.
...
, an award of the
San Sebastián International Film Festival
The San Sebastián International Film Festival ( SSIFF; es, Festival Internacional de San Sebastián, eu, Donostia Zinemaldia) is an annual FIAPF A category film festival held in the Spanish city of Donostia-San Sebastián in September, in th ...
References
Sources
*
External links
*
Film databaseat Teddy Award (English)
{{Teddy Award for Best Film
Berlin International Film Festival
LGBT film awards
German film awards
LGBT culture in Germany