

As is customary, queer cinema was celebrated at this year’s Berlinale Festival. The Teddy Awards, known as the most outstanding queer film prize in the world, were awarded to a range of films and filmmakers. Raul Niño Zambrano, Allegra Madsen, and Jan Künemund acted as the jurors for the prestige competition.
Acclaimed writer-director Todd Haynes was honored with a special lifetime achievement award. The filmmaker behind decorated films like Carol and Far From Heaven received a Teddy in 1991 for his feature debut, Poison. He also served as president for this year’s Berlinale jury.
Best Feature went to Lesbian Space Princess by Emma Hough Hobbs and Leela Varghese. In awarding the prize, the jury reflected on the animated comedy: “In a time when our community desperately needs a reason to smile, this film offers a deliciously subversive vision of a future that is so unabashedly queer in both form and content that it achieves the seemingly impossible – universal appeal through unwavering specificity.”
Satanische Sau (Satanic Sow) by Rosa von Praunheim won Best Documentary/Essay film and Lesley Loksi Chan’s Lloyd Wong, Unfinished won Best Short. The Jury Award was given 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) by Marie Luise Lehner. The Austrian film is about a working class 12-year-old with a queer father who is attempting to discover her identity while studying in an upper class school.
Dag Johan Haugerud’s Dreams (Sex Love), a film about queer first love won the top prize in the overall competition.