A Review of the Teddy Awards 2010
First published at eurOut.
Last Friday the Teddy Awards for the best queer movies have been awarded the 24th time in Berlin. This year the second time as an official Berlinale award.
Zaskia has already summarized the most important thing for lesBian movie goers, namely that The Kids Are All Right has won the Teddy for Best Feature Film.
But what of the awards ceremony? What of the glamour, the stars, the excitement?
Let me phrase it this way: If you haven't been able to watch it, don't beat yourself up. You haven't missed much.
This should be a post about celebrating lgbt themes in movies, a light hearted look at which celebrity chose what dress or suit for the evening, a place to express our glee about stars holding hands with their same sex partners in public. Sadly there was no red carpet parade and only some of the attending celebrities in the audience were pointed out to the viewer, like popular German comedian Hella von Sinnen.
Hella von Sinnen (center), Dunja Hayali, news presenter and her girlfriend, Maraike Arning
I'm also a bit disappointed by how the Teddy Awards have been presented by arte, the TV station that aired the ceremony last Saturday. As it's a queer film award and the majority of the public probably doesn't know what exactly queer means, a little introduction is very welcome. What the queer community doesn't need though, is boring puns featuring the word queer and 'queer' being used in a way that I could practically feel the voice over presenter patting me patronizingly on the head. I won't dwell on this, because I like to think I'm not childish and easily offended. So I'm moving on.
Sadly I'm only moving on to Annette Gerlach.
Annette Gerlach with Bille Christie (left) and Vladimir Malakhov (right).
Please don't get me wrong, I do think she is a very nice and likable women. But why, oh why, is she presenting the world's most important Queer Film Awards? Gerlach has presented the Teddy in the last years as well. Her English is still as subpar as it was last year, judging from Sandra's recap, and I could probably live with that. I could even live with her being clumsy when directing the winners to where they should stand on the stage, or forgetting her lines. But it's rather embarrassing, especially in this setting, to have her at one point forget to mention not only gays but lesbians too, then remembering it, and after a pause nervously mentioning lesbians as an afterthought. It's probably not that big a deal, but it still bugged me.
Now that I've got that off my chest I'm getting on with it and what follows is a proper recap of the events.
In an homage to late singer, composer, songwriter and actor Rio Reiser, the first out German rock star back in the 70s and 80s, the show starts off with his former band Ton Steine Scherben performing the song Mein Name ist Mensch (My Name is Human), its title also being the motto of this year's Teddy Awards.
Ton Steine Scherben
The first prize to be awarded is the Siegessäule Readers Award. It goes to the documentary Postcard To Daddy by Michael Stock. Of all the films, which the jury has seen this year Postcard to Daddy was by far the most moving. The members of the jury were so touched by Michael Stocks haunting documentary about his sexual abuse and the consequences for his life and that of his family that they still sat in silence in their seats minutes after the credits rolled. Through unsparing frankness that never became exhibitonist the filmmaker grants an intimate view of his suffering during and after the abuse.
Jury statement
Michael Stock
After a speech from Teddy Awards patron and Berlin's mayor Klaus Wowereit Monika Lüke, Secretary General of the German Section of Amnesty International, talks about this year's Teddy Topic Homophobia in Uganda.
We are then treated to a preview of Joey Arias' new show Arias with a Twist. The giant "devils", which looked somewhat like scary insects, were a bit disturbing and so were his almost geometrical waistline. But that might just be my impression.
Joey Arias
The Teddy for Best Documentary was revealed by the stunningly beautiful Jéssica Barbosa and went to La bocca del lupo by Pietro Marcello.
Jéssica Barbosa revealing the winner
We award the Teddy for Best Documentary to Pietro Marcello's La bocca del lupo for it's poetic construction of a geographical and personal space and for pushing the boundaries of conventional documentary filmmaking. It is a beautiful meditation of love passing through time.
Jury statement
Pietro Marcello
The Teddy Jury Award was presented by Bård Ydén (Skeive Filmer / Oslo Gay & Lesbian Film Festival) and Michelle Mangan (Outsiders - The Liverpool LGBTI Film Festival), both members of the Teddy Jury, and was awarded to Open by Jake Yuzna. In the movie the young hermaphrodite Cynthia meets Gen and Jay, who are gradually merging their facial features by means of plastic surgery to let the outside mirror what they feel on the inside: that they are one unified entity.
Open
To give recognition to a brave feature debut exploring the wide spectrum of transgender love and relationships, we award Jake Yuzna's Open with the Teddy Jury Award.
Jury statement
Jake Yuzna
Then it was time for another show act. This one a beautiful dance, featuring angel's wings and a shopping trolley performed by the young contortionist David Pereira.
David Pereira
The Special Teddy Award was awarded to German director and screenwriter Werner Schroeter for his lifetime achievement. The laudatory speech was held his friend author Wolf Wondratschek. Werner Schroeter, the radical experimentalist and great maverick of New German Film, has been awarded with this years' SPECIAL TEDDY, because he is to be counted among the likes of Fassbinder, Herzog or Wenders as one of the most important players in the emerging Young German Cinema and he is one of the greats of the gay culture in its early emancipation movement of postwar-Germany.
Jury statement
Werner Schroeter
And now finally the Teddy Award for Best Feature Film. Presented by director Rituparno Ghosh this award goes, as you all probably already know, to The Kids Are All Right by Lisa Cholodenko.
Lisa Cholodenko and Rituparno Ghosh
A Lesbian couple, Nic (Annette Benning) and Jules (Julianne Moore) live with their teenage children, Joni (Mia Wasikowska) and Laser (Josh Hutcherson). Laser wants Joni, now 18, to help him find their biological father. Against her better judgment, Joni honors her brothers' request and manages to make contact with their father Paul (Mark Ruffalo). Two children conceived by artificial insemination bring their birth father into their family life and an unexpected new chapter begins for them.
Lisa Cholodenko
Not featured in the version of the ceremony that aired on TV was the Teddy for Best Short Film, which was awarded to The Feast of Stephen by James Franco. The Teddy Award for the best short film goes to James Franco's The Feast Of Stephen. A fearless cinematic adaptation of a poem exploring one of the darker sides of adolescent passion and sexual fantasy.
Jury statement
James Franco
I leave you with a cheerful still from our favourite winner The Kids Are All Right. Don't you just want to hug them? I know I do. :)
Annette Bening and Julianne Moore in The Kids Are All Right.
This entry was originally posted at http://joan-psmith.dreamwidth.org/8098.html. Please comment there using OpenID.
Last Friday the Teddy Awards for the best queer movies have been awarded the 24th time in Berlin. This year the second time as an official Berlinale award.
Zaskia has already summarized the most important thing for lesBian movie goers, namely that The Kids Are All Right has won the Teddy for Best Feature Film.
But what of the awards ceremony? What of the glamour, the stars, the excitement?
Let me phrase it this way: If you haven't been able to watch it, don't beat yourself up. You haven't missed much.
This should be a post about celebrating lgbt themes in movies, a light hearted look at which celebrity chose what dress or suit for the evening, a place to express our glee about stars holding hands with their same sex partners in public. Sadly there was no red carpet parade and only some of the attending celebrities in the audience were pointed out to the viewer, like popular German comedian Hella von Sinnen.
Hella von Sinnen (center), Dunja Hayali, news presenter and her girlfriend, Maraike Arning
I'm also a bit disappointed by how the Teddy Awards have been presented by arte, the TV station that aired the ceremony last Saturday. As it's a queer film award and the majority of the public probably doesn't know what exactly queer means, a little introduction is very welcome. What the queer community doesn't need though, is boring puns featuring the word queer and 'queer' being used in a way that I could practically feel the voice over presenter patting me patronizingly on the head. I won't dwell on this, because I like to think I'm not childish and easily offended. So I'm moving on.
Sadly I'm only moving on to Annette Gerlach.
Annette Gerlach with Bille Christie (left) and Vladimir Malakhov (right).
Please don't get me wrong, I do think she is a very nice and likable women. But why, oh why, is she presenting the world's most important Queer Film Awards? Gerlach has presented the Teddy in the last years as well. Her English is still as subpar as it was last year, judging from Sandra's recap, and I could probably live with that. I could even live with her being clumsy when directing the winners to where they should stand on the stage, or forgetting her lines. But it's rather embarrassing, especially in this setting, to have her at one point forget to mention not only gays but lesbians too, then remembering it, and after a pause nervously mentioning lesbians as an afterthought. It's probably not that big a deal, but it still bugged me.
Now that I've got that off my chest I'm getting on with it and what follows is a proper recap of the events.
In an homage to late singer, composer, songwriter and actor Rio Reiser, the first out German rock star back in the 70s and 80s, the show starts off with his former band Ton Steine Scherben performing the song Mein Name ist Mensch (My Name is Human), its title also being the motto of this year's Teddy Awards.
Ton Steine Scherben
The first prize to be awarded is the Siegessäule Readers Award. It goes to the documentary Postcard To Daddy by Michael Stock. Of all the films, which the jury has seen this year Postcard to Daddy was by far the most moving. The members of the jury were so touched by Michael Stocks haunting documentary about his sexual abuse and the consequences for his life and that of his family that they still sat in silence in their seats minutes after the credits rolled. Through unsparing frankness that never became exhibitonist the filmmaker grants an intimate view of his suffering during and after the abuse.
Jury statement
Michael Stock
After a speech from Teddy Awards patron and Berlin's mayor Klaus Wowereit Monika Lüke, Secretary General of the German Section of Amnesty International, talks about this year's Teddy Topic Homophobia in Uganda.
We are then treated to a preview of Joey Arias' new show Arias with a Twist. The giant "devils", which looked somewhat like scary insects, were a bit disturbing and so were his almost geometrical waistline. But that might just be my impression.
Joey Arias
The Teddy for Best Documentary was revealed by the stunningly beautiful Jéssica Barbosa and went to La bocca del lupo by Pietro Marcello.
Jéssica Barbosa revealing the winner
We award the Teddy for Best Documentary to Pietro Marcello's La bocca del lupo for it's poetic construction of a geographical and personal space and for pushing the boundaries of conventional documentary filmmaking. It is a beautiful meditation of love passing through time.
Jury statement
Pietro Marcello
The Teddy Jury Award was presented by Bård Ydén (Skeive Filmer / Oslo Gay & Lesbian Film Festival) and Michelle Mangan (Outsiders - The Liverpool LGBTI Film Festival), both members of the Teddy Jury, and was awarded to Open by Jake Yuzna. In the movie the young hermaphrodite Cynthia meets Gen and Jay, who are gradually merging their facial features by means of plastic surgery to let the outside mirror what they feel on the inside: that they are one unified entity.
Open
To give recognition to a brave feature debut exploring the wide spectrum of transgender love and relationships, we award Jake Yuzna's Open with the Teddy Jury Award.
Jury statement
Jake Yuzna
Then it was time for another show act. This one a beautiful dance, featuring angel's wings and a shopping trolley performed by the young contortionist David Pereira.
David Pereira
The Special Teddy Award was awarded to German director and screenwriter Werner Schroeter for his lifetime achievement. The laudatory speech was held his friend author Wolf Wondratschek. Werner Schroeter, the radical experimentalist and great maverick of New German Film, has been awarded with this years' SPECIAL TEDDY, because he is to be counted among the likes of Fassbinder, Herzog or Wenders as one of the most important players in the emerging Young German Cinema and he is one of the greats of the gay culture in its early emancipation movement of postwar-Germany.
Jury statement
Werner Schroeter
And now finally the Teddy Award for Best Feature Film. Presented by director Rituparno Ghosh this award goes, as you all probably already know, to The Kids Are All Right by Lisa Cholodenko.
Lisa Cholodenko and Rituparno Ghosh
A Lesbian couple, Nic (Annette Benning) and Jules (Julianne Moore) live with their teenage children, Joni (Mia Wasikowska) and Laser (Josh Hutcherson). Laser wants Joni, now 18, to help him find their biological father. Against her better judgment, Joni honors her brothers' request and manages to make contact with their father Paul (Mark Ruffalo). Two children conceived by artificial insemination bring their birth father into their family life and an unexpected new chapter begins for them.
Lisa Cholodenko
Not featured in the version of the ceremony that aired on TV was the Teddy for Best Short Film, which was awarded to The Feast of Stephen by James Franco. The Teddy Award for the best short film goes to James Franco's The Feast Of Stephen. A fearless cinematic adaptation of a poem exploring one of the darker sides of adolescent passion and sexual fantasy.
Jury statement
James Franco
I leave you with a cheerful still from our favourite winner The Kids Are All Right. Don't you just want to hug them? I know I do. :)
Annette Bening and Julianne Moore in The Kids Are All Right.
This entry was originally posted at http://joan-psmith.dreamwidth.org/8098.html. Please comment there using OpenID.