Saturday, February 20, 2016

2016 Teddy Awards Winners


Yesterday watched for the first time ever the awards ceremony as there was a live streaming via the German branch of arteTV. My spontaneous reaction was that ceremony needed more organization as presenters had no idea of what to do when they arrived to the podium, award winners were called and not given their award but after they watched a clip of their movie and presenter read the jury statement, etc. Nevertheless it was kind of a surreal experience and was interesting to look how some directors have aged since I last saw them, sigh.

On the positive side believe that showing what seemed like the "finalists" for each award category was interesting and only regret they do not publish them as no, I don't recall them!

Can't deny that this year the film that called most my attention is a gay interest movie and surprise (!) film went to win the top award. Imagine film will be not-really-easy-to-watch but hope is very intense as the story suggests could be. Top winner is Tomcat by Händl Klaus.

Here are the story synopsis followed by the Jury Statement.

Synopsis
Andreas and Stefan live a blissful existence together with their tomcat, Moses. They inhabit a beautiful old house in the vineyards near Vienna and work in the same orchestra as manager and musician. Their passion for music, their large circle of friends and colleagues and their furry companion define the daily lives of the two men. But one morning an unexpected outburst of violence from Stefan shakes their harmonious relationship to its core. From this moment on, scepticism and alienation define their cohabitation and represent an almost insurmountable obstacle. While Stefan is losing the ground beneath his feet, Andreas struggles with his mistrust and his love for Stefan. Following his award-winning debut März (March), in his second film Händl Klaus portrays the expulsion of two lovers from paradise. Demonstrating exceptional sensitivity for the male psyche and for the blind spots in all our personalities, this artistic and poetic ballad tells of the fragility of love. Actors Philipp Hochmair and Lukas Turtur are both born theatre thespians and their naturalistic screen performances are impressive.

Statement of the Jury
Featuring a standout performance by a cat, Kater (Tomcat) uses its furry star to expose the violence lurking under the surface of a seemingly idyllic life. Surprisingly not a lesbian film, the story portrays a genuine and sensitive love between men rarely depicted on screen. Writer/director Händl Klaus and his team bring together masterful editing, beautiful cinematography, and great performances from the human cast to create an atmosphere of suspense. The result is a gripping, puzzling, and thought-provoking film that will stick with you long after you leave the cinema.

Also find very interesting the documentary winner, Kiki by Sara Jordenö as film is kind of a follow-up to outstanding 1990 Paris is Burning as provides an insight into the world of today's black LGBT community by taking a look at the balls where participant voguing competitions but in contrast to the time when Paris is Burning was made, these balls are no longer born of a subculture but instead organized by queer youth welfare organizations.   In a way Kiki let's us know how society changes in 25 years and perhaps is not a change that many could predict, expect or like to happen.

If you wish to read the jury statement for all winners at the official site go here. Winners are in *BLUE.

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2/2/16
Today organizers published the #Teddy30 program magazine with all films that will be competing for the most prestigious LGBT award in the world. As by now have read about almost ALL films in #Berlinale2016 already have an idea of the most interesting films and to which specific interest belong, so the task to list and classify the films is a bit more easier.

This post will list ALL films, including the films that will be screened in the Panorama section to celebrate the 30th anniversary.

During the Berlinale the award is presented in the following categories: Best Feature, Best Documentary/Essay Film and Best Short Film as well as the Special Jury Award. Every year films from all sections of the Berlin International Film Festival compete for the Teddy Awards.

Feature Films

Competition
Quand on a 17 ans (Being 17), André Téchiné, France (G)
Zjednoczone Stany Miłości (United States of Love), Tomasz Wasilewski, Poland and Sweden (L)

Generation Kplus
Rara, Pepa San Martín, Chile and Argentina (L)

Panorama
Antes o Tempo Não Acabava (Time Was Endless), Sérgio Andrade and Fábio Baldo, Brazil and Germany
Já, Olga Hepnarová (I, Olga Hepnarová), Tomáš Weinreb and Petr Kazda, Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia and France (L)
Jonathan, Piotr J. Lewandowski, Germany (G)
죽여주는 여자 Jug-yeo-ju-neun Yeo-ja (The Bacchus Lady), E J-yong, Korea (T)
*Kater (Tomcat), Händl Klaus, Austria (G) Winner of the Best Feature Film
Little Men, Ira Sachs, USA
*Mãe só há uma (Don’t Call me Son), Anna Muylaert, Brazil (T) Winner of the Männer Reader Jury Award
*Nunca vas a estar solo (You'll Never Be Alone), Alex Anwandter, Chile (G) Winner of the Special Jury Award
San Fu Tian (Dog Days), Jordan Schiele, Hong Kong and China (G)
*Théo et Hugo dans le même bateau (Paris 05:59), Olivier Ducastel and Jacques Martineau, France (G) Winner of the Audience Award
TORO, Martin Hawie, Germany (G)

Perspecktive Deutsches Kino
Liebmann, Jules Hermann

Documentary Films

Panorama Dokumente
Brüder der Nacht (Brothers of the Night), Patric Chiha, Austria (G)
Der Ost-Komplex (The GDR Complex), Jochen Hick, Germany (G)
Inside the Chinese Closet, Sophia Luvarà, Netherlands (LG)
*Kiki, Sara Jordenö, Sweden and USA Winner of the Best Documentary/Essay Film Award
Mapplethorpe: Look at the Pictures, Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato, USA and Germany (G)
Mi Yohav Oti Achshav? (Who's Gonna Love Me Now?), Tomer Heymann and Barak Heymann, Israel and UK (G)
Strike a Pose, Ester Gould and Reijer Zwaan, Netherlands (G)
Uncle Howard, Aaron Brookner, UK and USA (G)
Weekends, Lee Dong-ha, Korea (G)
Zona Norte, Monika Treut, Germany (L)

Short Films

Forum Expanded
A Boy Needs a Friend, Steve Reinke, Canada and USA, 27' (G)
Fugue, Kerstin Schroedinger, Canada and Germany, 8'
Girl Talk, Wu Tiang, USA, 4'
O Pássaro da Noite, Fernando Santos aka Deborah Krystal, Cindy Scrash, Alda Cabrita, João Pedro Rodrigues, Portugal and France, 20' (T)
The Lamps,Shelly Silver, USA, 4'

Generation
Balcony, Toby Fell-Holden, UK, 17' (14plus) (L)
En la azotea (On the Roof), Damià Serra Cauchetiez, Spain, 12' (Kplus) (G)
Mamma vet bäst (Mother Knows Best), Mikael Bundsen, Sweden, 12' (14plus) (G)
O noapte in Tokoriki (A Night in Tokoriki), Roxane Stroe, Romania, 18' (14plus)
Take Your Partners, Siri Rodnes, UK, 11' (Kplus) (T)

Shorts Competition
*Moms On Fire, Joanna Rytel, Sweden, 12’ Winner of the Best Short Film Award
Reluctantly Queer, Akosua Adoma Owusu, Ghana and USA, 8’ (G)

Members of the Jury 2016 - To read about each member check jury post here.
Augustas Čičelis, Lithuania
Alexandra Carastoian, Romania
Alice Royer, USA
Dagmar Brunow, Germany
Adán Salinas Alverdi, Mexico
Nosheen Khwaja, Scotland
Serubiri Moses, Uganda
Xiaogang Wei, China
Jay Lin, Taiwan

Teddy 30 Retro - To read about each film go to post here.
Films in the anniversary program, please notice that below list comes from official program and eliminates some films in earlier press release as well as adds new ones.

1 Berlin Harlem, Lothar Lambert and Wolfram Zobus, Germany (Federal Republic), 1974 (G)
Anders als die Andern (Different from the Others), Richard Oswald, Germany, 1919 (G)
Before Stonewall, Greta Schiller and Robert Rosenberg, USA, 1984 (G)
Die Betörung der Blauen Matrosen (The Enchantment of the Blue Sailors), Ulrike Ottinger, Germany (Federal Republic), 1975  (All)
Die Wiese der Sachen (The Meadow of Things), Heinz Emigholz, Germany (Federal Republic), 1974 (G)
Gendernauts - Eine Reise durch die Geschlechter (Gendernauts - A Journey Through Shifting Identities), Monika Treut, Germany, 1999 (LT)
Hedwig and The Angry Inch, John Cameron Mitchel, USA, 2001 (GT)
Je, tu, il, elle (I, You, He, She), Chantal Akerman, France and Belgium, 1974 (L)
Looking for Langston, Isaac Julien, UK, 1989 (G)
Machboim (Hide and Seek),  Dan Wolman, Israel, 1979  (G)
Marble Ass, Želimir Žilnik, Yugoslavia, 1995 (G)
Nitrate Kisses, Barbara Hammer, USA, 1992 (L)
Parting Glances, Bill Sherwood, USA, 1986 (G)
The Watermelon Woman, Cheryl Dunye, USA, 1996 (L)
Tongues Untied, Marlon Riggs, USA, 1989 (G)
Toute une nuit (A Whole Night), Chantal Akerman, France and Belgium, 1982 (L)
Tras el cristal (In a Glass Cage),  Agustí Vilaronga, Spain, 1987 (G)

Berlinale Talents
Talents Teddy Talk: The Finally New Queer Cinema?
In The Nest: Drama Series Made By Talents

As we already know the Special Teddy Award 2016 goes to very-famous in the LGBT community as well as in the cinema industry, producer Christine Vachon.

Teddy 30 Brochure-magazine

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