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Tunten lügen nicht

Queens Don’t Cry
TEDDY 40 2026
© Rosa von Praunheim/ missingFILMs
Ichgola Androgyn, BeV StroganoV, Tima the Divine and Ovo Maltine are four headstrong drag queens who met in West Berlin in the mid-eighties and have been busy fertilising the cultural scene in both Germany and the rest of the world ever since. Director Rosa von Praunheim has been fortunate enough to work with each of them repeatedly in various films. They all share the fact that they are not mere performers but are also politically active – in AIDS awareness, events against anti-gay violence, the prostitutes’ movement, the struggle against the extreme Right and racism. At one time, they even lived together as a chosen family on a houseboat in Berlin, where they would often put their heads together over their shows, political activities and media appearances. They first performed at Berlin’s gay centre “SchwuZ” and went on to appear all over Berlin and Germany. Three of them are HIV positive which means they are engaged in a constant personal battle for survival. A portrait of four wilful, courageous queens that captures an important part of Berlin’s cultural scene. Their personal histories are as colourful as a sequin-studded gown, held together by the fabric of their lives as queens. They have meticulously collected endless numbers of photographs, television clips, posters and newspaper articles. The four spend their lives working, loving and fighting together; believing in themselves as one family, till death them do part. – Rosa von Praunheim, 2002
by Rosa von Praunheim (Director), Lorenz Haarmann (Screenplay)
with BeV StroganoV, Ichgola Androgyn, Tima die Göttliche, Ovo Maltine Germany 2002 German 90' Colour Documentary form Rating R 16

TEDDY 40

Tunten lügen nicht celebrated its Berlinale premiere in the 2002 Panorama.

With

  • BeV StroganoV
  • Ichgola Androgyn
  • Tima die Göttliche
  • Ovo Maltine

Crew

Director Rosa von Praunheim
Screenplay Lorenz Haarmann
Cinematography Lorenz Haarmann
Editing Mike Shepard
Producer Rosa von Praunheim
Executive Producer Rosa von Praunheim

Produced by

Rosa von Praunheim Filmproduktion

Berlin, Germany

Co-produced by

NDR

Hamburg, Germany

World Sales

missingFILMs

Berlin, Germany

Photos

Rosa von Praunheim

The multi-award-winning film director and writer, who died in 2025, was one of the most important figures in post-modern German cinema and a trailblazer in the country’s gay and lesbian political movement. Spanning over 50 years, he directed more than 150 films. Born as Holger Mischwitzky in Riga, Latvia in 1942, he grew up in Frankfurt am Main and lived in Berlin from the mid-1960s on. His best-known films include Die Bettwurst and Nicht der Homosexuelle ist pervers, sondern die Situation, in der er lebt. After Rote Liebe was presented in the Forum in 1982, his work subsequently featured regularly in the Panorama programme.

Filmography (selection)

1970 Die Bettwurst · Armee der Liebenden (Army of Lovers); documentary 1971 Nicht der Homosexuelle ist pervers, sondern die Situation in der er lebt; documentary 1981 Rote Liebe (Red Love); Berlinale 1982 1983 Stadt der verlorenen Seelen (The City of Lost Souls); documentary 1985 Ein Virus kennt keine Moral 1987 Anita – Tänze des Lasters (Anita - Dances Of Vice); Berlinale 1988 1989 Überleben in New York; documentary 1995 Neurosia – 50 Jahre pervers (Neurosia - 50 Years Of Perversity); Berlinale 1996 2001 Tunten lügen nicht (Queens Don't Cry); documentary, Berlinale 2002 2004 Männer Helden und schwule Nazis (Heroes And Gay Nazis); documentary, Berlinale 2005 2007 Tote Schwule - lebende Lesben (Dead Gay Men and Living Lesbians); documentary, Berlinale 2008 2010 Die Jungs vom Bahnhof Zoo (Rent Boys); documentary, Berlinale 2011 2011 König des Comics (King of Comics); documentary, Berlinale 2012 2015 Härte (Tough Love); Berlinale 2015 2025 Satanische Sau (Satanic Sow); documentary, Berlinale 2025

Bio- & filmography as of Berlinale 2026