Further Berlinale Awards for the Forum 2026: Readers' Award, Teddy Award, Independent Juries

The Berlinale’s independent juries include critics’, readers’ and association juries that present awards to films from across the entire Berlinale programme. Here we introduce those that honoured Forum films with prizes this year. A complete list of the independent juries can be found on the Berlinale website. The Caligari Film Award and the Berlinale Documentary Award for IF PIGEONS TURNED TO GOLD are presented in separate news items.

Teddy Award for the best queer documentary film

The Teddy Award for the best queer documentary film 2026 went to Brydie O'Connor and her film BARBARA FOREVER form the Forum Special programme.

The Jury statenment reads: „This compelling documentary traces the evolution of a visionary filmmaker for whom living a lesbian life and finding adequate representation thereof were inseparable from her experimental practice. Weaving interviews with segments of her work, filmmaker Brydie O’Connor vividly evokes the life and legacy of Barbara Hammer. In doing so, the film carries forward her enduring commitment to opening her art to a new generation of filmmakers.“

The TEDDY AWARD, the most important queer film award in the world, is a socially committed political prize that honors films and people who communicate queer topics on a broad social level, thereby contributing to tolerance, acceptance, solidarity and equality in society. The jury members 2026 were Saagar Gupta, Skadi Loist, Daniela Vega, Sigal Yehuda und Ray Yeung.

FIPRESCI Prize Berlinale 2026

FIPRESCI (Fédération Internationale de la Presse Cinématographique) is the international association of film critics who award prizes at all major film festivals. The jury for the Berlinale Forum 2025 consisted of Amirata Joolaee, Ursule Kähler und Aina Randrianatoandro. FIPRESCI awards prizes for each section of the Berlinale.

The winner from the Forum programme 2026 was ANYMART by Yusuke Iwasaki. 

Prize of the Ecumenical Jury 2026

Prize of the Ecumenical Jury 2026 for a film from the Forum programme went to the Kazakh filmmaker Kristina Mihailova and her film RIVER DREAMS. The Ecumenical Jury honours films that address significant social and interreligious issues. Ecumenical juries are present at more than 30 festivals and are composed on a denominationally balanced basis. The jury members for the Forum 2026 were Stephen Brown, Ingrid Stapf and Lea Wohl von Haselberg. The prize is endowed with 2.500 Euro.

CICAE Art Cinema Award

Der CICAE Art Cinema Award 2026 goes to the Romanian filmmaker Tudor Cristian Jurgiu and his film ON OUR OWN (De Capul Nostru). 

The CICAE Art Cinema Award is presented by the International Confederation of Arthouse Cinemas (Confédération Internationale des Cinémas d'Art et d'Essai). It is awarded by an international jury of cinema operators and programmers and aims to bring high-quality films to arthouse cinemas. 2026 the jury was comprised of Patryk Chromik, Tatenda Jamera and Francesc Vilallonga.

Tagesspiegel Readers' Jury

The Readers' jury of the Berlin based newspaper Tagesspiegel 2026 awards its prize to the film I BUILT A ROCKET IMAGINGING YOUR ARRIVAL von Janaína Marques aus.

The jury statement reads: "The director takes us on a visually stunning journey of mother and daughter. She sensitively unfolds their relationship in a magical-realist search for beautiful memories. We are convinced by the humorous, light, and playful approach, which at the same time boldly gives visibility and relevance to the inner worlds of women."

The Tagesspiegel Readers' Jury 2026 was comprised of Claudia Kimmlingen, Andreas Müller, Clara Milou Scheda, Gabriele Schippers, Sebastian Schmeling, Sonja Thur and Rafaela Wahl-Herrera.