Teddy Award at Berlinale
The world's most prestigious LGBTQ+ film award, presented annually at the Berlin International Film Festival, recognizing the best films with LGBTQ+ themes across all Berlinale sections with the longest history of any queer film prize.
Overview
The Teddy Award is the world's most prestigious LGBTQ+ film award. Founded in 1987 and presented annually at the Berlin International Film Festival, the Teddy recognizes the best films with LGBTQ+ themes across all Berlinale sections, making it unique among queer film awards in its integration with one of the world's most important A-list festivals.
The Teddy's history is inseparable from Berlin's identity as one of the world's most LGBTQ+-welcoming cities, with its Christopher Street Day parade, its historic queer neighborhoods in Schoneberg and Mitte, and its political culture of openness and acceptance. Berlin's LGBTQ+ cultural history extends to the Weimar Republic, when Magnus Hirschfeld's Institut fur Sexualwissenschaft conducted some of the earliest scientific research on human sexuality.
At 37 years, the Teddy is the oldest queer film award in the world, predating all other LGBTQ+ film prizes and establishing the model that subsequent queer film awards have followed.
Key Sections
- Feature Film Award -- best feature with LGBTQ+ themes across all Berlinale sections
- Documentary Award -- best documentary with LGBTQ+ themes
- Short Film Award -- best short film with LGBTQ+ themes
- Special Teddy -- honorary recognition for exceptional contribution to LGBTQ+ cinema
What Filmmakers Should Know
The Teddy Award is presented to films already accepted into the Berlinale -- it is an award given to Berlinale-selected films, not a separate submission process. For filmmakers with LGBTQ+ themed films, Berlinale selection combined with a Teddy Award represents the highest level of recognition available.
Major Awards
- Teddy for Best Feature Film -- LGBTQ+ feature across Berlinale
- Teddy for Best Documentary
- Teddy for Best Short Film
- Special Teddy
Festival History
The Teddy Award was founded in 1987 by activists and filmmakers at the Berlinale and has operated as an independent jury within the festival.
See Also
For the Berlinale, see Berlin International Film Festival. For Outfest, see Outfest Los Angeles.
