The 39th annual Teddy Awards, the longest-running LGBTQ+ prizes at a major film festival, arrive at a time of increasing challenges for queer communities worldwide. Against a backdrop of controversial policies and rising anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment in several countries, the awards spotlight films that offer a counterpoint to global hostility toward gender diversity and queer rights.
Michael Stütz, head of the Panorama section since 2019, observed that queer cinema has become an integral part of the festival’s fabric. “I can’t remember a recent year where there was no queer film in [the main] competition in Berlin,” he said, highlighting how recent years have seen a shift toward a more balanced representation and inclusion of voices from Black, Indigenous, and people of color communities.
This year’s program features a number of projects with political resonance. Among them is Billy Shebar and David Roberts’ documentary portrait, Monk in Pieces, a study of composer Meredith Monk that will join the Oscars’ documentary feature longlist. Yihwen Chen’s Queer as Punk, set in a country where LGBTQI* identities are illegal, also stands out for its bold narrative.
Other contenders in the best feature category include Shatara Michelle Ford’s Dreams in Nightmares, a road film following three queer Black femmes in the American Midwest, and Joy Gharoro-Akpojotor’s Dreamers, which follows two Nigerian migrants navigating a U.K. asylum removal center while discovering unexpected love. Gharoro-Akpojotor explained that her film’s focus on a love story is a way to reach wider audiences. “It’s important for people to see versions of themselves, and it’s equally important for other people to see that we exist,” she said.
Outside Berlin, recent policies in the United States and actions by figures such as Elon Musk and political parties in Europe have drawn criticism from many in the creative community. Such developments have amplified the significance of the Teddy Awards, which continue to honor films that speak to queer experiences and rights at a time when public debates over gender and identity have grown more heated.
