Falk Richter will receive the Special TEDDY AWARD 2019
For the 33rd time the TEDDY AWARD will be presented at the Berlin International Film Festival (07.02. - 17.02.2019) on Friday the 15th of February 2019 at the Volksbühne Berlin am Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz.
For 33 years, the TEDDY AWARD has been honouring films and filmmakers who make important contributions, with the queer themes and artistic commitment, to greater tolerance, equality, acceptance and diversity throughout the world. Films in the categories best feature film, best documentary/ essay film and best short film will be awarded. In addition, the Special TEDDY AWARD for outstanding achievements is presented to an incredible cultural contributor. The award recognizes the lasting merits of the artistic work, which contribute to an extensive public perception and reception of queer perspectives in art, culture and media to an extraordinary degree.
This year's Special TEDDY AWARD goes to the director and playwright Falk Richter. Previous winners of the Special TEDDY AWARD include Tilda Swinton, Werner Schroeter, Ulrike Ottinger, Monika Treut, John Hurt, Udo Kier, Christine Vachon, Joe Dallesandro, Evita Bezuidenhout, Rosa von Praunheim and Elfi Mikesch.
Falk Richter (*1969) is one of the most important contemporary theatre directors and playwrighters. His plays are all highly topical and are performed in more than 35 languages worldwide. For over two decades his texts have been staged on the most renowned international and national stages, such as the Festival d'Avignon, Toneelgroep Amsterdam, Burgtheater Vienna, Théâtre National de Bruxelles, Königliches Dramaten Stockholm, Melbourne Theatre Compagny, Schauspielhaus Zürich, Salzburger Festspiele, Théatre National Strasbourg, Deutsches Schauspielhaus Hamburg, Schaubühne Berlin, Maxim Gorki Theater and the Ruhrtriennale. His most famous and successful texts include "Gott ist ein DJ", "Electronic City", "Unter Eis", "TRUST", "FEAR" and "Je suis Fassbinder". With the production "Am Königsweg" (2017) by Elfriede Jelinek, Falk Richter and the Deutsches Schauspielhaus Hamburg were invited to the Berlin Theatertreffen, the most important contemporary meeting of theatres in the German-speaking world. The specialist journal "Theater heute" voted Falk Richter "Director of the Year" in 2018. At the beginning of 2019, Falk Richter received the highest French cultural award from the French government and was named Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.
Wieland Speck, Chairman of the TEDDY Foundation and curator of the Panorama of the Berlinale for many years, comments on Falk Richter's being awarded with the Special TEDDY AWARD: "For the emancipatory work of the performing arts, Falk Richter's theatre has produced the most convincing contemporary works. The combination of aesthetic and analytical communication, with the prominent inclusion of works by video artists such as Chris Kondek, Michel Auder and Björn Melhus, also contributes to the inspiration of current film-making. The TEDDY Foundation awards the Special TEDDY AWARD to Falk Richter as an activist from whom we hope to receive lasting impulses for the future of queer and cosmopolitan cinema".
Tickets for the TEDDY AWARD ceremony on the 15th of February 2019 at the Volksbühne Berlin can be booked online in the Volksbühne's webshop or by calling the ticket hotline +49 30 24065777. Tickets can also be purchased at the bookstore Prinz Eisenherz, Motzstrasse 23, 10777 Berlin.
The TEDDY AWARD ceremony will take place on Friday, Feb. 15, 2019 at the Volksbühne Berlin am Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz, 10178 Berlin. The award ceremony begins at 9 p.m. (admission starts at 8 p.m.). From 11 p.m. the big TEDDY AFTER SHOW PARTY will take place throughout the Volksbühne, with 3 dance floors, 2 lounges, top DJs and live acts.
