10th Queer Lion Award Lineup Update 2

Award organizers were supposed to announce films next Monday, August 22 but today there are some films listed and even when do not know if is the complete list, I'm in the mood of sharing the films that will or could be considered for the Venice Film Festival LGBT award.

Before checking the list, let's find out who are going to decide the winning film (or films?).

Jury
President: Cecilia Ermini, film critic and programmer, Italy
Rich Cline, film critic, UK
Daniel N, Casagrande, founder of Queer Lion Award, journalist, Italy

The following are the films in today's list. Next Monday could modify list according to what organizers do as perhaps they could add more films and/or short films. If find which LGBT interest the film has will add info.

Was reading in facebook and twitter the award publications and seems this is the complete list and there will be no award for short films. Still, according to the official site, seems on Monday there will be an official award presentation by Casagrande as well as will publish the events around the award, so will update post, if applicable.

My spontaneous reaction to list is that there are two films with clear interest and both are with gay-interest, one absolutely calls my attention for the director and the most amazing cinematography of Iceland settings; the other is Italian and well not really calls my attention (lol!) but wonder if the award will not go to any of these two films as whatever LGBT interest the other films have, seem will be of the not-so-pleasant to watch characters and storyline. Sigh.

Monday August 22, 2016 Update

No, there are no changes to the list, there are 10 films in competition for the 2016 Queer Lion and there will be NO award for short films. 

Today organizers published the foreword by Daniel N. Casagrande that you could read in English here. Still, there are some news worth sharing in this post and here is the cut/paste paragraph that talks about films NOT considered for the award but have some LGBT interest. Sorry, no explanations to why films are NOT included in the competition.

Among the films not competing for the Queer Lion Award, worth of a mention are: Era ieri by Valentina Pedicini, a lesbian short film presented in the section SIC@SIC; the ambiguous and mysterious Frantz by François Ozon; Isiko (The Wound) by John Trengove, a South African gay-themed film presented as a work in progress in the Final Cut workshop in Venice; the glamour and elegance of the documentary Franca: Chaos and Creation by Francesco Carrozzini, and the libertine, pre WWII Paris of Rebecca Zlotowski’s Planetarium starring Natalie Portman and Louis Garrel and co-written by Robin Campillo.

Most interesting is to learn that the Queer Lion Award is given to the "Best Film with Homosexual & Queer Culture Themes". This is new to me as older definition was longer and perhaps more to the essence of LGBT cinema; but well, is a great summary that explains not much as if something is really diverse and engulfs so many cultural aspects is the so-called Homosexual & Queer culture. Sigh.

Wednesday, August 24 Update

A few minutes ago got the following email from Daniel N. Casagrande with some comments about why above films were not considered. Here is the copy/paste of the email.

Hi,

At the request of the direction of the Venice Film Festival we only consider the medium and feature films, so movies longer less than 30’ can not compete.

FRANTZ is not in competition because the gay subject is never made explicit, any homosexual relationship (if there ever was) is never discussed, mentioned, everything is subtext, it's all about the "not told" and the "not shown"; The most attentive LGBT audience will see (maybe) all of this, the remaining 95% of the audience will see another movie.

The documentary on Francesco Carrozzini, that concern the fashion world, is definitely interesting for the LGBT public, but it has nothing to do with homosexual themes.

PLANETARIUM has only one sequence in a gay bar in the Paris of 1937.

ISIKO is a work in progress, will go to Venice in a single pass in a hall with 120 seats only for buyers and producers, we were explicitly asked not to add it in the competition because it's not finished yet.

Thanks for your attention.
Daniel...

We thank Mr. Casagrande communication that clarifies doubts that many of us had, including those that asked me directly. Most important, we have info to consider for future editions of this award.

From Venezia 73

Ang babaeng humayo (The Woman Who Left) by Lav Diaz with Charo Santos-Concio, John Lloyd Cruz (Philippines, 226’)

Synopsis: For Horacia Somorostro, living has become a veritable reclusion perpetua, an imprisonment. Life’s spins and randomness has been very difficult, vicious and inexplicable for her. The year is 1997. Princess Diana dies in a violent car crash. The world is saddened by the death of Mother Theresa. And the Philippines is gripped with fear. It has become the kidnap capital of Asia.

Director Lav Diaz's drama examines economic disparity in modern Filipino society through the eyes of a woman released from prison 30 years after being framed and wrongly convicted.

Director's Statement: “Existence is fragile” says Lav Diaz, “At the end of the day, we really don’t know anything”. A simple, yet complex story; a work about human existence, which raises the question “where does logic figure in all of this?” A film that seeks to push cinema towards its deeper and grander end: to find answers to the philosophical questions that each viewer asks himself. The setting in Mindoro, a province of the Philippines of which Charo Santos-Concio is a native, made the shooting even more authentic than the theme of the film could have.



La Región Salvaje (The Untamed) by Amat Escalante with Ruth Ramos, Simone Bucio (Mexico, Denmark, France, Germany, Norway, 100’)

Synopsis from Biennale: A social parable that focuses on Mexico, but also wishes to be universal. A more metaphysical film than Amat Escalante's previous film Heli (2013, Best Director at Cannes). A story about falling in love and vanishing illusions in a highland city in Mexico. Veronica (Simone Bucio) goes down to find the point of impact of a meteorite that crashed and altered the configuration of the area. In the same way, she will change the lives of Angel (Jesùs Mesa) and Alejandra (Ruth Ramos), a young couple that puts its determination to the test as they try, with their two children, to overcome adversity.

Synopsis from San Sebastian fest: Young mother Alejandra is a working housewife, raising two boys with her husband Angel in a small city. Her brother Fabien works as a nurse in a local hospital. Their provincial lives are upset with the arrival of the mysterious Veronica. Sex and love can be fragile in certain regions where strong family values, hypocrisy, homophobia and male chauvinism exist. Veronica convinces them that in the nearby woods, inside an isolated cabin, dwells something not of this world that could be the answer to all of their problems.



Amat Escalante is MUST-BE-SEEN for me and no matter what his previous films have told in their stories nor the extreme violence they could show, I'll will watch his films as they're mesmerizing. Still can't imagine a film by him with some LGBT interest and if have to push my imagination then I see something that will not be pleasant to watch; somehow suspect film could have some lesbian interest ... but not sure at all.

Questi Giorni by Giuseppe Piccioni with Margherita Buy, Filippo Timi (Italy, 120’)

Synopsis from Biennale: Questi Giorni is the story of a group of college-age girls from the provinces, an age in which decisions about the future become more pressing, and can no longer be delayed. A provincial Italian town. Inside the old city walls, in late-night forays along the seafront, in the enchantment of a temporary incursion into nature, the four girls play out their daily rituals and nurture their expectations; their friendship has not sprung from overwhelming passion, shared interests or great ideals. They are bound not by affinity but by habit, by occasional enthusiasm, by guileless clashes, and feelings they cultivate in secret. Yet their bond is as unique and inimitable as the days they travel together to Belgrade, where they will find a mysterious friend and an unlikely job opportunity.



The obvious implication is that film has some lesbian interest and probably does so, but there is no clear info -yet- anywhere.

From Orizzonti

Boys in the Trees by Nicholas Verso with Toby Wallace, Gulliver McGrath (Australia, 2016)

Synopsis: Halloween 1997 – the last night of high school for Corey, Jango and their skater gang, The Gromits. Childhood is over and adult life beckons. But for Corey, his past has some unfinished business. When he encounters Jonah, a former childhood friend but now victimised by Jango’s cruel streak, Corey takes pity on him and agrees to walk him home for old time’s sake. What starts off as a normal walk through empty suburban streets descends into something darker and magical, as trip through their memories and ghosts of the past, and Corey is surprised to discover how much he still has in common with his abandoned friend. But on the night of the grave’s delight, even the most buried truths will find a way of coming to life.

Best Narrative Screenplay (Unproduced) award winner at the 2011 New York Gay and Lesbian Film Festival. Imagine film has gay interest; but, no, I'm not sure.



From Giornate degli Autori (Venice Days)

Hjartasteinn (Heartstone) by Guðmundur Arnar Guðmundsson with Søren Malling, Gunnar Jónsson (Denmark, Iceland, 129’)

Synopsis: A remote fishing village in Iceland. Teenage boys Thor and Christian experience a turbulent summer as one tries to win the heart of a girl while the other discovers new feelings toward his best friend. When summer ends and the harsh nature of Iceland takes back its rights, it’s time to leave the playground and face the acrimony of adulthood.

Director statement: Heartstone is a personal story based on my experience growing up in a small fishing village. The core of the film is a strong, beautiful friendship between two boys, and how their environment and inner conflict drive them apart, before the bond they share manages to reunite them again. The village is a place full of contrats, where kids discover how nature and people can be both amazingly beautiful and incredibly cruel. As a kid, I wished I could show the grown-ups around me how our world really felt, and that's what I want to show as a filmmaker: because the years of youth reflect our lives in clear, beautiful, and sometimes harsh manner.



Has to have gay interest, don't you think so too?

Indivisibili (Indivisible) by Edoardo De Angelis with Angela Fontana, Marianna Fontana (Italy, 100’)

Synopsis: Viola and Dasy are a pair of conjoined twins who sing at weddings and parties and manage to support their entire family with their performances. It all works, until they realize that separation is a real option. All they want is normal lives: eating ice cream, traveling, dancing, making love, drinking wine without worrying about their other half getting drunk... A gay couple, very close to the sisters, is among the characters we will meet throughout their story.



Seems film has secondary gay interest.

Pamilya ordinaryo (Ordinary People) di Eduardo Roy Jr. con Ronwaldo Martin, Hasmine Killip (Filippine, 107’) (T)

Synopsis: A family portrait of Jane, sixteen, and her boyfriend, Aries, making a living out of stealing on the chaotic streets of Manila. Fate hits back at them when, one month after having become parents, their child is stolen by a transgender who wants to sell it to another couple. In an effort to get the baby back, the couple will be forced to take extreme measures.



From Settimana Internazionale della Critica (Venice International Film Critics Week)

Jours de France by Jérôme Reybaud with Pascal Cervo, Arthur Igual (France, 141’) (G)

Synopsis: A man leaves everything behind to travel aimlessly through France, letting himself be guided only by the people and landscapes he encounters: four days and four nights of wandering, during which his lover tries to locate him via Grindr, a smartphone dating app.



Le ultime cose by Irene Dionisio with Fabrizio Falco, Christina Rosamilia (Italy, France, Switzerland, 85’) (T)

Synopsis: In Torino, a bittersweet crowd is bringing its own belongings to a pawn shop, waiting for a ransom or the final auction. Between the thousands of faces that tell the human inventory of the crisis, three stories intertwine unconsciously in the thin line of moral debt. Sandra, a young trans, in order to escape her past sells her fur coat. Her gaze will cross Stefano’s, a novice who just started working at the bank, and who drags her towards a tender obsession. Michele, a retired porter, asks for a loan to a family member, who will turn out to be fatally the wrong person to ask a favor from.



From Cinema nel Giardino

L’estate addosso (Summertime) by Gabriele Muccino with Taylor Frey, Joseph Haro (Italy, 103’) (G)

Synopsis: 18 year-old Marco, in the summer of high-school final exams, unexpectedly ends up on a road trip to San Francisco with Mary, a classmate of his, nicknamed ‘the nun’. Mary’s company is, to Marco, a real catastrophe. When in California, the two of them will be guests of Matt and Paul, a young gay couple: the four will have to face problems and prejudices and will live an experience that will forever change their lives.



To check list at official site go here. Check available info plus trailers @MOC

Queer Lion Award 2016 will be handed out on Friday, September 9 at 7:00PM at Villa degli Autori, headquarter of Venice Days-Giornate degli Autori, in a ceremony where the most important collateral awards, such as Fedeora Award, Label Europa Cinemas, Venice Days Award, BNL Audience Critics’ Week prize will be announced.

On the night of Friday, September 9, to celebrate 10 years of the Queer Lion, QL Closing Party will take place in the park of Nicelli airport in Lido di Venezia, with free entrance and a shuttle bus service from Cittadella del Cinema (the area of Casino and Palazzo del Cinema). Music by Brian dj from Queever disco club in Turin.

Video

For obvious reasons I didn't particularly like the promotional video but well, check it to form your own opinion. Sigh.

4th Sebastiane Latino Award Winner

The Chilean film Rara, directed by Pepa San Martín, will receive the Sebastiane Latino Award at the coming edition of the San Sebastian Festival. The Award goes to the Latin American feature film released during the previous year to best defend the demands and values of lesbian, gay, transsexual and bisexual people.

The accolade also reflects the support lent to Latin American productions by the Sebastiane Award, now in its 17th edition, and the San Sebastian Festival.

The Jury, made up of members of GEHITU, the Basque gay, lesbian, transsexual and bisexual association, opted for the film, to be presented in the coming Horizontes Latinos section, telling from a teenager’s point of view the story of her mother, the lesbian judge Karen Atala, who had the custody of her children taken from her by the Chilean justice because of her sexual orientation. Atala took her struggle to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, which finally condemned Chile.

The Jury also rated the way the film conveys “the internal enemy that all we LGBT people have, the internalized homophobia, that feeling which after years of repression may have taken brutal root inside us, preventing us from expressing healthy affectivity in society”. San Martín prompts her leading character, “for fear of non-existent rejection, to unleash a succession of events leading to an unpleasant situation for all those around her”.

They also highlighted the fact that Rara is a work directed, written and performed largely by women, “an obvious example of the strong presence of women in many films” participating in the fourth edition of the Sebastiane Latino Award.

Synopsis from Berlinale 2016 
“So ... do your Mom and Lia kiss in public?” · “Sometimes. Not that much.”

Since their parents split up, Sara and her younger sister live with their mother, whose new partner is a woman. Everyday life for the four of them is hardly any different than it is for other families. The situation is actually totally fine with Sara. But not everyone sees it that way – her father in particular has his doubts. As Sara’s 13th birthday approaches, she’s feeling rather overwhelmed: her first crush, a body in the midst of changes and to top it off, conflicts over loyalty with her parents ... Everything feels wrong. The empathetic feature-length debut of director Pepa San Martín is based on a true story.

Pepa San Martín





The poster that reminds us film was in 2016 Berlinale where won the International Jury Grand Prix for Best Film in the Generation Kplus section.

To check news at official site go here, available only in Spanish.

4th Sebastiane Latino Award Finalists

The coming edition of the San Sebastian Festival will include screening of the winner of the Sebastiane Latino Award, presented by the Basque gay, lesbian, transsexual and bisexual association, GEHITU.

The Award goes to the Latin American feature film released during the previous year to best defend the demands and values of lesbian, gay, transsexual and bisexual people.

The Sebastiane Latino Award Jury, composed of members of GEHITU, has selected as finalists the films Amores Urbanos, Mãe só há uma, Nunca vas a estar solo, Rara, Santa y Andrés and Uio: sácame a pasear. Four of the six finalist films are directed by women.

This fourth edition of the award renews its support of Latin American cinema at the San Sebastian Festival, an event well known for its backing of Latin American productions. In addition to presenting the award to the winner, to be announced on the 18th, the 2nd Meeting of Ibero-American LGBT Film Festivals will also take place at the coming edition of the Festival.

No surprise when I say the most interesting film is the one from Ecuador as was not aware of film and is unusual to find a lesbian interest film made in Ecuador; on top, film already has won some local production awards. Interesting.

Amores Urbanos (Restless Love), Vera Egito, Brazil
Amores Urbanos is a comedy-drama telling the tale of three friends who live in the same building in the city of São Paulo. Julia, Diego and Micaela are young anti-heroes who deal with their ups and downs in love and work with humour and heaps of personality.



Mãe só há uma (Don't Call Me Son), Anna Muylaert, Brazil
On discovering that he was stolen as a child by the woman he thought was his mother, Pierre (also known as Felipe) must face up to the consequences of his mother’s actions and try to deal with his biological family.



Nunca Vas a Estar Solo (You'll Never Be Alone), Alex Anwandter, Chile
After the violent assault of his gay teenage son Juan, a withdrawn manager at a mannequin factory, struggles between paying his son’s exhorbitant medical bills and his last attempt at becoming partner with his boss. As he runs into dead-ends and unexpected betrayals, he discovers that the world he thought he knew was waiting to be violent with him too. Juan has already made too many mistakes, but his son can still be saved.



Rara, Pepa San Martín, Chile and Argentina
A story taking its inspiration from the real-life case of a Chilean judge who lost custody of her children for being a lesbian, narrated from the point of view of her eldest daughter, Sara, aged 13. The screenplay is based on a true story which could be told as a tale of lawyers and courts, of lawsuits, plaintiffs, defendants and victims, but is, instead, the story of a family.



Santa y Andrés, Carlos Lechuga, Cuba, France and Colombia
1988, Andrés is a homosexual writer with counterrevolutionary ideas. He lives confined by the government in a cabin deep in the mountains of eastern Cuba. When a political meeting is about to be held they send Santa, a local girl, to keep an eye on him for three days. Although the odds seem to be stacked against them, they soon realize that they have far more in common than they thought.



Uio: Sácame a Pasear (UIO: Take Me For a Ride), Micaela Rueda, Ecuador, Mexico and Colombia
Sara is in her last year of high school, doesn't have many friends and is trapped between a dominating mother and an inattentive father. But everything changes when she meets Andrea, her new schoolmate, and the two become involved in a secret intimate relationship.




To read the news at the official site go here, available only in Spanish.

2016 Queer Palm Award Winners

Yesterday organizers had their award ceremony and closed a quiet year with not much activities, low social media coverage, low media coverage (it increased for the awards), the official website not working, some info in the partners sites, and some info in the facebook page. Hope that organizers collect themselves and prepare better for next year, hopefully with partners that help them to consolidate the award.

The winner of the feature film is a documentary about Thérèse Clerc directed by Sébastien Lifshitz, who hast top documentary credentials in my book as his 2013 Bambi is mesmerizing. Here is Les Vies de Thérèse synopsis from la Quinzaine official site.

Thérèse Clerc is one of the great figures of militantism. From the struggle to legalize abortion to the fight for equal rights of men and women and the battle for gay rights, she’s been on the front lines of all of them. She has just learned that she has an incurable disease and has decided to take a last look back over her life, a tender and lucid look at the battles and the love that went with them.

Documentary is must be seen for me as still recall Thérèse Clerc in the other Lifshitz documentary, Les Invisibles and yes, I'm curious to learn more about her life. Thérèse Clerc died in February 16, 2016, she was 88-years-old.

Here is a copy and paste from the jury statement that basically says the award was given to the director and his film, but also to the main character.

En récompensant Les vies de Thérèse c'est un double prix que s'est offert le jury. Une palme pour Sébastien Lifshitz et son film émouvant qui sait nous raconter une femme et ses combats, mêlant vie privée et engagement politique, balayant les époques, questionnant la sexualité, bousculant les rôles que la société nous impose. Le réalisateur pose un regard tendre sur cette femme, un regard amoureux, plein de vénération mais qui offre au spectateur la juste distance que nécessite la représentation de cette femme combattante au seuil de la mort. 
Et c'est aussi une palme pour Thérèse Clerc, décédée le 16 février 2016, pour cette femme qui a su, en traçant son propre chemin, nous ouvrir la voie, nous rappelant sans cesse combien notre désir et notre sexualité peuvent et doivent nourrir notre combat pour une société plus juste.
Le jury se réjouit en outre d'avoir ainsi ajouté le premier documentaire à la liste déjà riche des films primés par la Queer Palm à Cannes.

Worth to mention that in the short history of the Queer Palm, this is the first time the award is given to a documentary.

In the short film category the award goes to Gabber Lover by Anna Cazenave Cambet and this is a copy and paste of the jury statement

Cette année, les films du festival ont offert une grande diversité de personnages féminins, forts, indépendants, différents, résistants. Et ils nous ont ainsi beaucoup parlé du désir féminin, si longtemps nié et réprimé.
Ces films, peut-être parce que c'était la 69e édition du festival, nous ont aussi beaucoup montré de cunnilingus et le jury de la Queer Palm à l'unanimité tient à saluer les réalisatrices et réalisateurs qui ainsi contribuent à la promotion d'une pratique sexuelle nettement plus agréable à regarder que les rapides et franchement machistes coïts auxquels la sexualité des personnages de cinéma s'est longtemps cantonnée.  Les beaux personnages féminins du festival nous ont rappelé qu'il fallait toujours faire face et souvent affronter les autres, la société et soi-même pour se construire et façonner autant que faire se peut notre propre destin.
Les films que le jury, après une discussion nourrie, a décidé, à l'unanimité, de distinguer sont ainsi deux films d'espoir et d'amour qui montrent des femmes, l'une adolescente, l'autre au seuil de la mort, qui se confrontent à l'existence et veulent rester maîtresses de leur propre vie.
La Queer Palm du court-métrage a donc été attribuée à Gabber lover d'Anna Cazenave-Cambet.
Gabber lover est un film limpide à la réalisation maîtrisée, un film sensible surtout dans lequel la réalisatrice narre d'une façon aiguë et fine la confrontation de son personnage à sa situation intime comme sociale. Un film de coming out où l'on apprend à faire face à son désir, à lui donner enfin libre court. Gabber lover est un film dont nous ne doutons qu'il apportera un message libérateur aux jeunes spectateurs.

In summary, the Queer Palm jury recognized that this year the films in Cannes offer a big diversity of female characters, strong, independent, different, resilient. Then comes a funny message between the relation of the number 69 (which is this year fest edition) and lesbian scenes in some of the films the jury saw (lol).  But they went back to be serious to say that this year the jury gave the awards to films about women, one a teenager and the other a woman near death, which I find surprising as does not happen often in LGBT festivals or any festival that gives LGBT awards.  Bravo.

The short film by Anna Cazenave-Cambet has the following synopsis in the Cinéfondation site.

Nérac in the early 2000s. Laurie and Mila (13) dance on Gabber music, on the shores of a remote lake. Mila is in love with Laurie and she wants to tell her.



If you wish to check the award facebook page go here.  Winners are below in *BLUE.

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5/13/16
Yesterday organizers announced the films that this year are competing for the LGBT award given in the Festival de Cannes and the announcement was made in a magazine called Clap and to our enjoyment, the magazine has some articles about lgbt films from 2015, with a special mention to Sean Baker's Tangerine that the call "rare, unique, work of art celebrating creative, humane and artistic freedom". Suggest you read the articles available in French and English.

Among the activities surrounding the award we find the Queer Film Market that will be held on Tuesday, May 17 from 2 to 5 pm; also night "activities" happen at the official queer and open minded club in Cannes, Le Vertigo, open from May 11 to 22, from midnight to dawn.

There are 17 films in the selection, twelve (12) are feature films and five (5) are short films

Feature Films

Official Selection

Competition
Agassi (The Handmaiden), Park Chan-wook, Korea (L)
Aquarius, Klebler Mendonca Filho, Brazil and France
Rester Vertical, Alain Guiraudie, France
The Neon Demon, Nicolas Winding Refn, Denmark, France and USA

Special Screenings
Le Cancre, Paul Vecchiali, France

Un Certain Regard
La Danseuse (The Dancer), Stéphanie Di Giusto, France (L)

Quinzaine des Réalisateurs

Divines, Houda Benyamina,
Fiore, Claudio Giovannesi, Italy and France
*Les Vies de Thérèse, Sebastien Lifshitz, France

Semaine de la Critique

Competition
Grave (Raw), Julia Ducournau, France and Belgium

Special Screenings
Apnée, Jean-Christophe Murisse, France

ACID
Willy 1er, Ludovic & Zoran Boukherma, Marielle Gautier and Hugo P. Thomas, France

Short Films

Cinéfondation Selection
In the Hills, Hamid Ahmadi, UK
*Gabber Lover, Anna Cazenave Cambet, France

Semaine de la Critique
Le Soldat Vierge (The Virigin Soldier), Erwan Le Duc, France
Prenjak (In the Year of Monkey), Wregas Bhanuteja, Indonesia
Superbia, Luca Tóth, Hungary

Jury
Presidents: Olivier Ducastel and Jacques Martineau, directors, France
Émilie Brisavoine, Director, France
Joao Federici, Festival Director, Brazil
Marie Sauvion, Journalist, France



If you wish to check more about this award go to the award facebook page here.

Check the magazine, Enjoy!!!

2016 Teddy Awards Winners

Yesterday watched for the first time ever the awards ceremony as there was a live streaming via the German branch of arteTV. My spontaneous reaction was that ceremony needed more organization as presenters had no idea of what to do when they arrived to the podium, award winners were called and not given their award but after they watched a clip of their movie and presenter read the jury statement, etc. Nevertheless it was kind of a surreal experience and was interesting to look how some directors have aged since I last saw them, sigh.

On the positive side believe that showing what seemed like the "finalists" for each award category was interesting and only regret they do not publish them as no, I don't recall them!

Can't deny that this year the film that called most my attention is a gay interest movie and surprise (!) film went to win the top award. Imagine film will be not-really-easy-to-watch but hope is very intense as the story suggests could be. Top winner is Tomcat by Händl Klaus.

Here are the story synopsis followed by the Jury Statement.

Synopsis
Andreas and Stefan live a blissful existence together with their tomcat, Moses. They inhabit a beautiful old house in the vineyards near Vienna and work in the same orchestra as manager and musician. Their passion for music, their large circle of friends and colleagues and their furry companion define the daily lives of the two men. But one morning an unexpected outburst of violence from Stefan shakes their harmonious relationship to its core. From this moment on, scepticism and alienation define their cohabitation and represent an almost insurmountable obstacle. While Stefan is losing the ground beneath his feet, Andreas struggles with his mistrust and his love for Stefan. Following his award-winning debut März (March), in his second film Händl Klaus portrays the expulsion of two lovers from paradise. Demonstrating exceptional sensitivity for the male psyche and for the blind spots in all our personalities, this artistic and poetic ballad tells of the fragility of love. Actors Philipp Hochmair and Lukas Turtur are both born theatre thespians and their naturalistic screen performances are impressive.

Statement of the Jury
Featuring a standout performance by a cat, Kater (Tomcat) uses its furry star to expose the violence lurking under the surface of a seemingly idyllic life. Surprisingly not a lesbian film, the story portrays a genuine and sensitive love between men rarely depicted on screen. Writer/director Händl Klaus and his team bring together masterful editing, beautiful cinematography, and great performances from the human cast to create an atmosphere of suspense. The result is a gripping, puzzling, and thought-provoking film that will stick with you long after you leave the cinema.

Also find very interesting the documentary winner, Kiki by Sara Jordenö as film is kind of a follow-up to outstanding 1990 Paris is Burning as provides an insight into the world of today's black LGBT community by taking a look at the balls where participant voguing competitions but in contrast to the time when Paris is Burning was made, these balls are no longer born of a subculture but instead organized by queer youth welfare organizations.   In a way Kiki let's us know how society changes in 25 years and perhaps is not a change that many could predict, expect or like to happen.

If you wish to read the jury statement for all winners at the official site go here. Winners are in *BLUE.

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2/2/16
Today organizers published the #Teddy30 program magazine with all films that will be competing for the most prestigious LGBT award in the world. As by now have read about almost ALL films in #Berlinale2016 already have an idea of the most interesting films and to which specific interest belong, so the task to list and classify the films is a bit more easier.

This post will list ALL films, including the films that will be screened in the Panorama section to celebrate the 30th anniversary.

During the Berlinale the award is presented in the following categories: Best Feature, Best Documentary/Essay Film and Best Short Film as well as the Special Jury Award. Every year films from all sections of the Berlin International Film Festival compete for the Teddy Awards.

Feature Films

Competition
Quand on a 17 ans (Being 17), André Téchiné, France (G)
Zjednoczone Stany Miłości (United States of Love), Tomasz Wasilewski, Poland and Sweden (L)

Generation Kplus
Rara, Pepa San Martín, Chile and Argentina (L)

Panorama
Antes o Tempo Não Acabava (Time Was Endless), Sérgio Andrade and Fábio Baldo, Brazil and Germany
Já, Olga Hepnarová (I, Olga Hepnarová), Tomáš Weinreb and Petr Kazda, Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia and France (L)
Jonathan, Piotr J. Lewandowski, Germany (G)
죽여주는 여자 Jug-yeo-ju-neun Yeo-ja (The Bacchus Lady), E J-yong, Korea (T)
*Kater (Tomcat), Händl Klaus, Austria (G) Winner of the Best Feature Film
Little Men, Ira Sachs, USA
*Mãe só há uma (Don’t Call me Son), Anna Muylaert, Brazil (T) Winner of the Männer Reader Jury Award
*Nunca vas a estar solo (You'll Never Be Alone), Alex Anwandter, Chile (G) Winner of the Special Jury Award
San Fu Tian (Dog Days), Jordan Schiele, Hong Kong and China (G)
*Théo et Hugo dans le même bateau (Paris 05:59), Olivier Ducastel and Jacques Martineau, France (G) Winner of the Audience Award
TORO, Martin Hawie, Germany (G)

Perspecktive Deutsches Kino
Liebmann, Jules Hermann

Documentary Films

Panorama Dokumente
Brüder der Nacht (Brothers of the Night), Patric Chiha, Austria (G)
Der Ost-Komplex (The GDR Complex), Jochen Hick, Germany (G)
Inside the Chinese Closet, Sophia Luvarà, Netherlands (LG)
*Kiki, Sara Jordenö, Sweden and USA Winner of the Best Documentary/Essay Film Award
Mapplethorpe: Look at the Pictures, Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato, USA and Germany (G)
Mi Yohav Oti Achshav? (Who's Gonna Love Me Now?), Tomer Heymann and Barak Heymann, Israel and UK (G)
Strike a Pose, Ester Gould and Reijer Zwaan, Netherlands (G)
Uncle Howard, Aaron Brookner, UK and USA (G)
Weekends, Lee Dong-ha, Korea (G)
Zona Norte, Monika Treut, Germany (L)

Short Films

Forum Expanded
A Boy Needs a Friend, Steve Reinke, Canada and USA, 27' (G)
Fugue, Kerstin Schroedinger, Canada and Germany, 8'
Girl Talk, Wu Tiang, USA, 4'
O Pássaro da Noite, Fernando Santos aka Deborah Krystal, Cindy Scrash, Alda Cabrita, João Pedro Rodrigues, Portugal and France, 20' (T)
The Lamps,Shelly Silver, USA, 4'

Generation
Balcony, Toby Fell-Holden, UK, 17' (14plus) (L)
En la azotea (On the Roof), Damià Serra Cauchetiez, Spain, 12' (Kplus) (G)
Mamma vet bäst (Mother Knows Best), Mikael Bundsen, Sweden, 12' (14plus) (G)
O noapte in Tokoriki (A Night in Tokoriki), Roxane Stroe, Romania, 18' (14plus)
Take Your Partners, Siri Rodnes, UK, 11' (Kplus) (T)

Shorts Competition
*Moms On Fire, Joanna Rytel, Sweden, 12’ Winner of the Best Short Film Award
Reluctantly Queer, Akosua Adoma Owusu, Ghana and USA, 8’ (G)

Members of the Jury 2016 - To read about each member check jury post here.
Augustas Čičelis, Lithuania
Alexandra Carastoian, Romania
Alice Royer, USA
Dagmar Brunow, Germany
Adán Salinas Alverdi, Mexico
Nosheen Khwaja, Scotland
Serubiri Moses, Uganda
Xiaogang Wei, China
Jay Lin, Taiwan

Teddy 30 Retro - To read about each film go to post here.
Films in the anniversary program, please notice that below list comes from official program and eliminates some films in earlier press release as well as adds new ones.

1 Berlin Harlem, Lothar Lambert and Wolfram Zobus, Germany (Federal Republic), 1974 (G)
Anders als die Andern (Different from the Others), Richard Oswald, Germany, 1919 (G)
Before Stonewall, Greta Schiller and Robert Rosenberg, USA, 1984 (G)
Die Betörung der Blauen Matrosen (The Enchantment of the Blue Sailors), Ulrike Ottinger, Germany (Federal Republic), 1975  (All)
Die Wiese der Sachen (The Meadow of Things), Heinz Emigholz, Germany (Federal Republic), 1974 (G)
Gendernauts - Eine Reise durch die Geschlechter (Gendernauts - A Journey Through Shifting Identities), Monika Treut, Germany, 1999 (LT)
Hedwig and The Angry Inch, John Cameron Mitchel, USA, 2001 (GT)
Je, tu, il, elle (I, You, He, She), Chantal Akerman, France and Belgium, 1974 (L)
Looking for Langston, Isaac Julien, UK, 1989 (G)
Machboim (Hide and Seek),  Dan Wolman, Israel, 1979  (G)
Marble Ass, Želimir Žilnik, Yugoslavia, 1995 (G)
Nitrate Kisses, Barbara Hammer, USA, 1992 (L)
Parting Glances, Bill Sherwood, USA, 1986 (G)
The Watermelon Woman, Cheryl Dunye, USA, 1996 (L)
Tongues Untied, Marlon Riggs, USA, 1989 (G)
Toute une nuit (A Whole Night), Chantal Akerman, France and Belgium, 1982 (L)
Tras el cristal (In a Glass Cage),  Agustí Vilaronga, Spain, 1987 (G)

Berlinale Talents
Talents Teddy Talk: The Finally New Queer Cinema?
In The Nest: Drama Series Made By Talents

As we already know the Special Teddy Award 2016 goes to very-famous in the LGBT community as well as in the cinema industry, producer Christine Vachon.

Teddy 30 Brochure-magazine

XVI Sebastiane Award Winner

A few hours ago was announced the award winner and the winner is none other than Freeheld by Peter Sollett that has in the two leading roles Ellen Page and Julian Moore but also in the cast Steve Carrell and Michael Shannon.

All of us that have seen Academy Award winner documentary 2007 Freeheld by Cynthia Wade know that story is not easy-to-watch and just hope that film kept the story essence without too many creative licenses, sigh. Nevertheless I'm glad that this year lesbian interest films are winning awards at top festivals.

This is a copy and paste of the Jury Statement available only in Spanish and Euskara.

"El Jurado le concede el 16 Premio Sebastiane por reflejar una hermosa historia de amor entre dos mujeres que quedan atrapadas en la realidad de la enfermedad de una de ellas y en la lucha por la reivindicación de su pensión de viudedad; una pequeña lucha particular, que sin embargo, se convierte en un impulso notable del matrimonio igualitario en EEUU, que ha sido un gran avance por los derechos humanos y la igualdad real de nuestra comunidad que contribuye a lograr una sociedad mejor y más justa para todos.

Esta película rinde un justo tributo, a menudo omitido, a la lucha de las lesbianas que han abierto camino a los hombres gais y bisexuales.

FREEHELD está llena de valores de lucha, solidaridad, igualdad y compromiso."

The award ceremony will be this afternoon at the Galería Kur and tomorrow will be the traditional party at Centro Cultural Jareño.  To read announcement at award official site go here.

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9/3/15
Yesterday award organizers announced the films that will compete for the 2015 LGBT award given at the San Sebastian International Film Festival.

Along with the Sebastiane Award organizers will also present the 3rd Sebastiane Latino award given to Latin American films; as we already know, this year Sebastiane Latino goes to Mariposa by Marco Berger that will be screened in the Zabaltegi section and will receive the award on September 20.

Also from September 24th to 26th there will be a meeting of LGBT Film Festivals directors from Latin America and Europe.

These are the films competing for 2015 Sebastiane Award.

Official Selection
El Rey de la Habana, Agustí Villaronga, Spain and Dominican Republic (G)
*Freeheld, Peter Sollett, USA (L)

New Directors
Barash, Michal Vinik, Israel (L)

Horizontes Latinos
El Club (The Club), Pablo Larraín, Chile (G)
Desde Allá (From Afar), Lorenzo Vigas, Venezuela (G)

Zabaltegi
Mariposa, Marco Berger, Argentina (G)

There is another film that is out of competition in a Thematic Retrospetive, New Japanese Independent Cinema 2000-2015: Parade by Isao Yukisada, Japan,, 2009 that I assume is just mentioned as a reference to complete all films with LGBT interest in San Sebastian fest.

The Jury president is Benoît Arnulf, artistic director of In&Out Nice festival and jury members come from the Gehitu organization. The award will be presented on September 25 at Kur Gallery and on September 26 will the the award party at Centro Cultural Jareño. If you wish to read about each film go to award official site here.

The magnificent B&W photo in this year award graphic identity is by Isabel Muñoz and to have a better look check the larger photo and the complete GM magazine cover.   If you wish to learn more about the photographer go to her official site here.