40th Teddy Awards - In Progress

From today on, the films considered for the 2026 Teddy Award will be published at the award official site. Still is a bit unclear if films will be in or out of competition, so post will be In Progress until there is enough information to identify all films and the section they belong, as well as the interest.

As they say in their presentation and definitively agree, Queer films are far more than entertainment. They tell stories of lived realities that are too often overlooked, marginalized, or silenced. They create visibility, open up new perspectives, and give space to voices that deserve to be heard. Especially in times of social change, this visibility is more important than ever.

The Teddy Award has always stood for diversity, courage, and artistic freedom. We are proud to present films that push boundaries, spark dialogue, and portray queer life in all its complexity, beauty, and contradictions.

The Special Teddy Award goes to none other than Céline Sciamma!

The awards ceremony will be on February 20 at and hosted by Britta Steffenhagen with performance by Ebow.

The Lineup 

Teddy Berlinale 2026 Competition

Feature Films

Berlinale Competition
À voix basse (In a Whisper), Leyla Bouzid, France and Tunisia (L)
Rose, Markus Schleinzer, Austria and Germany

Berlinale Special
Saccharine, Natalie Erika James, Australia

Perspectives
Die Heimatlose (Trial of Hein), Kai Stänicke, Germany
Where To?, Assaf Machnes, Israel and Germany

Panorama
Iván and Hadoum, Ivan de la Rosa, Spain, Germany, and Belgium (debut film)
Jaripeo, Efraín Mojica and Rebecca Zweig, Mexico, USA and France (debut film) La Face cachée de la Terre (The Hidden Face of the Earth), Alain Arnaud, France
Mouse, Kelly O'Sullivan and Alex Thompson, USA (L)
Narciso, Marcelo Martinessi, Paraguay, Germany, Uruguay, Brazil, Portugal, Spain, and France
Staatsschutz (Prosecution), Faraz Shariat, Germany
The Education of Jane Cumming, Sophie Heidman, Germany, Switzerland, and UK
东山飘雨西山晴 Two Mountains Weighing Down My Chest, Viv Li, Germany and Netherlands

Forum
Barbara Forever, Brydie O'Connor, USA (documentary) (L)
I Built a Rocket Imagining Your Arrival, Janaina Marques, Brazil (debut film)
Joy Boy: A Tribute to Julius Eastman, Mawena Yehouessi, Fallon Mayanja, Rob Jacobs, Victoire Karera Kampire, Paul Shemisi, and Anne Reijniers, Belgium
Uchronia, Fil Ieropoulas, Greece and Netherlands

Generation
Black Burns Fast, Sanduela Asanda, South Africa (debut film) (L)
Feito Pipa (Gugu's World), Allan Deberton, Brazil
No Salgas (Don't Come Out), Victoria Linares Villegas, Dominican Republic (L)
What Will I Become?, Lexie Bean and Logan Rozos, USA (documentary) (debut film)

Short Films

Berlinale Shorts
Cosmonauts, Leo Černic, Slovenia and Italy, 14′ (animation)
La hora de irse (Time to Go), Renzo Cozza, Argentina, 20′
Stallion y la bola de cristal (Stallion and a Crystal Ball), Christian Avilés, Spain, 19′
TAXI MOTO, Gaël Kamilindi, Switzerland and France, 20′

Forum
This Suffocating Now, Vika Kirchenbauer, Germany (documentary)

Generations
Cuando llegue a casa (When I Get Home), Edgar Adrián, Mexico
Whale 52 - Suite for Man, Boy, and Whale, Daniel Neiden, USA (animation)
Yercekimi (Gravity), Dalya Keleş, Turkey

The International Jury
Saagar Gupta, film curator, producer, screenwriter and festival artistic director, India
Daniela Vega, actress, operatic singer, writer and producer, Chile
Sigal Yehuda, documentary leader, Belgium
Ray Yeung, director, screen writer and producer, Hong Kong

Teddy Out Of Competition

Feature Films

Berlinale Competition
Dust, Anke Blondé, Belgium, Poland, Greece and UK
Rosebush Pruning, Karim Aïnouz, Italy, Germany, Spain, and UK

Berlinale Special
Die Blutgräfin (The Blood Countess), Ulrike Ottinger, Austria, Luxembourg and Germany
The Ballad of Judas Priest, Sam Dunn and Tom Morello, USA (documentary)

Perspectives
Animol, Ashley Walters, UK

Panorama
Bucks Harbor, Pete Muller, USA (documentary) (debut film)
Enjoy Your Stay, Dominik Locher, Switzerland, France and Philippines
Rumaragasa (Raging), Ryan Machado, Philippines

Forum
Cesarean Weekend, Mohammad Shirvani, Iran
Prénoms (Given Names), Nurith Aviv, France
Сны реки River Dreams, Kristina Mikhailova, Kazakhstan, Switzerland and UK (debut film)

Generation
A Family, Mees Peijnenburg, Netherlands and Belgium
Tegenwoordig heet iedereen Sorry (Everyone's Sorry Nowadays), Frederike Migom, Belgium, Netherlands and Germany

Short Films

Forum
Industries of Denial, Stage 10: From Musa Dagh to Port Said, Angela Melitapoulos and Kerstin Schoedinger, Germany, Greece and Finland
Pink Schlemmer, Oliver Husain, Canada 13'

Teddy Extra Screenings and Events

Lola und Bilidikid, Kutluğ Ataman, Germany, 1999
Maladies, Kutluğ Ataman, Germany, 1999
Parting Glances, Daisy von Scherler Mayer, USA, 1995
Prinz in Hölleland, Michael Stock, Germany 1993

Berlinale Celebrates 40 Years of the Teddy Award

The 40th anniversary is celebrated with the special program TEDDY 40, consisting of six short films and eight feature films from the history of the award, as well as a series of discussions. To check the films at the Teddy Award official site go here. Complementary program Wild At Heart will follow.

Feature Films
Ang Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros (The Blossoming of Maximo Oliveros), Kanakan- Balintagos, Philippines, 2005 - Teddy Award Winner
Kokomo City, D. Smith, USA, 2023 (documentary) - Teddy Award Winner
Mil nubes de paz cercan el cielo, amor, jamás acabarás de ser amor (A Thousand Clouds of Peace Fence the Sky: Love, Your Being Love Will Never End), Julián Hernández, Mexico, 2003 - Teddy Award Winner
The Watermelon Woman, Cheryl Dunye, USA, 1996 - Teddy Award Winner
Tomboy, Céline Sciamma, France, 2011 - Teddy Jury Award Winner
Tunten lügen nicht (Queens Don't Cry), Rosa von Prauheim, Germany, 2002 (documentary)
Una Mujer Fantástica (A Fantastic Woman), Sebastián Lelio, Chile, USA, Germany and Spain, 2017 - Teddy Award Winner
Verführung: Die grausame Frau (Seduction: The Cruel Woman), Elfi Mikesch and Monika Treut, France, 1985

Constellations of Queer Memory: 40 Years of the Teddy in the Short Film Form
575 Castro St., Jenni Olson, USA, 2008 7'
Entropia, Flóra Anna Buda, Hungary, 2018 10' (animation)
Liebe, Eifersucht und Rache (Love, Jealousy and Revenge), Michael Brynntrup, Germany, 1991 7'
Mondial 2010, Roy Dib, Lebanon, 2014 - Teddy Best Short Film Winner
Playback. Ensayo de Una Despedida (Playback), Augustina Comedi, Argentina, 2019 14'
To Write From Memory, Emory Chao Jonhson, USA, 2023 19' (documentary)