The Circuit

by Vicci Ho
I am convinced that the Teddy organized scheduled "Otto; or, Up With Dead People" as our final 'to view' film on purpose. After seeing six films in one day, Bruce LaBruce's latest was exactly what it took to put me in the mood (zombiefied) for the post-screening party. It was at a fairly large underground gay club (literally) and by the time we got there after the film it was 1am. My friends and I found a quiet corner in the back room, but within twenty minutes it was not only over-packed, but over-smokey. The party was fun but I did find the service lacking. After waiting at the bar for over 10 minutes as the bartender took over a minute to mix one drink, I wonder if I would have had my booze faster if I was served by a real zombie.

I managed to get to bed just after 6am so I could get some rest before our jury deliberation meeting at 11.30am. With tired bodies and hungover minds, we hoped the meeting would not go as long as our scheduled 8 hours, but in the end it still took 6...by the time we had to write the jury statements we struggled so much we had to keep consulting the online thesaurus while half-sleeping on the table. By then I decided to at least have one quiet night before the big awards night and catch up on my beauty sleep!

The Teddy Awards was held at the Haus der Kulturen der Welt, and as they sent cars to pick us up from the hotel beforehand, it once again dawned on me just how special this experience is, especially for a Berlinale virgin like myself. The big excitement of the evening was the attendance of Special Teddy award winner Tilda Swinton (for her contribution in preserving Derek Jarman's legacy.) It didn't take long for us to forget about the television cameras and potentially doing something embarrassing that will be seen across Europe and focused our thoughts solely on whether we will get a chance to take a photo with her (we did.)

By forgetting to collect the translation headphones, I really don't know half of what was happening during the ceremony, but the performances did leave a lasting impression. Most of the acts were acrobatics by men with extremely fit bodies. They were nothing but impressive but it does beg the question: why acrobatics?

After the ceremony we were ready to let our hair down and enjoy some down, drunken time. The party took place on two floors...with the top floor feeling like a gay high school prom and downstairs a pumping German techno discotheque that is so smokey my eyes teared up. After a few hours of drinking, it was finally time to wrap up such a wonderful and valuable experience in the only way it should be: an unforgettable high.