Berlin’s Teddy Award, the First Queer Cinema Honor, at 40: Still Fighting, Still Fabulous

Co-founder Wieland Speck shares insight into the past and future of the award whose winners have included Pedro Almodóvar, Todd Haynes, Tilda Swinton, Derek Jarman, Céline Sciamma, Christine Vachon, Gus Van Sant, John Hurt, and Sophie Hyde. Teddy Award co-founder Wieland Speck at the Teddy Award ceremony 2011 Courtesy of Teddy Award/Berlinale Share on Facebook Share on X Google Preferred Share to Flipboard Show additional share options Share on LinkedIn Share on Pinterest Share on Reddit Share on Tumblr Share on Whats App Send an Email Print the Article Post a Comment It all started as a grassroots gathering of queer film festival programmers at the Prinz Eisenherz bookstore – after the German name for Prince Valiant – in Nolldendorf, Berlin, during the Berlinale. Founded in 1978 as Germany’s first gay bookshop, it still exists and is now just called Buchladen Eisenherz. The idea came up to create an award to be handed out during the Berlin International Film Festival. So, in 1987, German filmmakers Wieland Speck and Manfred Salzgeber, who died in 1994, co-founded an award for LGBT films and formed a jury, which they dubbed the International Gay & Lesbian Film Festival Association (IGLFFA), to decide the winner. The Teddy Bear Award, echoing the Berlinale’s ursine main awards of the Golden and Silver Bear, was born. Its name was later shortened to Teddy Award, but the statuette remains shaped like a teddy bear. Related Stories Movies Gore Verbinski on His AI Comedy Comeback: "It's 2026. Good Luck. Have Fun. Don't Die." Movies Next Narrative Africa Fund Founder Akunna Cook on Why Hollywood Needs an Africa Strategy The first Teddy Award winner was none other than Pedro Almodóvar for Law of Desire (La ley del deseo), starring Antonio Banderas. The list of Teddy winners since then reads like a who’s who of independent filmmaking, including the likes of Todd Haynes, Tilda Swinton, Derek Jarman, Ray Yeung, Céline Sciamma, François Ozon, Christine Vachon, James Franco, Babatunde Apalowo, Ulrike Ottinger, Jay Duplass, Monika Treut, Gus Van Sant, Małgorzata Szumowska, Ira Sachs, Sophie Hyde, Sebastián Lelio, and John Hurt. Originally focused on films in the Berlinale’s Panorama section, overseen by Salzgeber, in 1992, the Teddy was recognized as an official independent award of the festival. And the honor, celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, has grown into one of the most significant events on the annual queer cinema calendar and inspired other queer film honors. Todd Haynes with his first Teddy for ‘Poison’ in 1991 The Berlinale is putting a spotlight on the 40th anniversary with the special program “Teddy 40,” which features six short films and eight features from the award’s history, as well as a series of discussions under the moniker “Wild at Heart,” designed to “archive the oral history of the Teddy Award and its far-reaching impact.” Among the topics of debate: “Subversive Reimagining of Cinematic Spaces” and “Embedding Queer Cinema in Industry Structures.” “Thanks to Manfred Salzgeber and Wieland Speck’s pioneering efforts over 40 years ago, queer cinema, and through it the Teddy Award, have become part of the DNA of the festival,” Michael Stütz, head of the Berlinale’s Panorama section and co-director of film programming, as well as a member of the board of directors of the Teddy Foundation, tells THR. “Born out of the curation, the urgency to champion and make space for queer filmmakers to strive and blossom can be seen throughout all program sections nowadays. Berlin was the ideal festival for it to flourish, with a curious urban audience and enough subcultural spaces back in the 1980s; then press and industry followed.”And he emphasizes: “Thanks to the dedication of a passionate team and the support of allies throughout the festival and the city, the Teddy is not only part of the Berlinale’s identity but also important to the festival’s special position in the circuit.” In the early days of Panorama, queer films were rare. “Co-founder Manfred Salzgeber brought them to Berlin and gave them a stage,” recalls Speck, who was his assistant before becoming head of Panorama in 1992 and continuing that role until 2017. “That attracted filmmakers, and in 1987, the selection within the general program was potent enough for us to come up with the Teddy Award. Its purpose: to promote queer film work to an indifferent majority whose homophobia led to marginalization instead of attention.” Javier Bardem at the Teddy Awards 2007 The Teddy ceremonies and parties soon became legendary. Speck recalls taking over famous Berlin locations and “queering them up” for the Teddy celebrations, including the Metropol theater and club, the Tempelhof Airport, and the House of World Cultures. In recent years, the Teddy celebration has been taking over the Volksbühne theater. The 40th anniversary edition of the Teddy Award Ceremony will take place Feb. 20 at the Volksbühne, with honors presented in t