Oulu Music Video Festival Launches a New Program!

Oulu Music Video Festival Launches a New Program – Applications for OMVF NEXT Open Until February 10

The Oulu Music Video Festival launches Finland’s first mentorship program for music video directors, OMVF NEXT. Supported by AVEK, this masterclass aims to strengthen the unique artistic voice of the most talented emerging directors, support their professional development and internationalisation, and foster the creation of high-quality, artistically ambitious music videos.

Through an open call, five Finnish or Finland-based directors will be selected to develop and produce new music videos with the support of two top mentors: Finnish artist and filmmaker Mika Taanila and Swedish director Marcus Söderlund.

OMVF NEXT is free of charge for the directors selected for the program. Travel and accommodation expenses will be covered. OMVF is not responsible for the production budget of the videos. The works produced within the program will premiere at the Oulu Music Video Festival 2025 and will be distributed to international festivals.

The significance of festivals as a showcase for music videos has grown in recent years, especially now that the golden era of music television is long gone, and many videos get lost in the vast ocean of YouTube. Despite this, the number of music videos is increasing, with hundreds produced annually in Finland alone. Music videos exist in the unique intersection of media, cinema, and popular culture. With its mentorship program, OMVF—Finland’s only and the world’s oldest music video festival—further strengthens its role as a key developer and advocate of Finnish music video culture. The festival encourages directors to boldly explore new narrative and visual approaches, questioning the boundaries of what music videos can be

Schedule

Applications open on January 23 and close on February 10, after which the OMVF team will select five directors for the program. Applicants will be informed of the selection results by the end of February.

The first workshop will be held as a two-day event in Helsinki on April 11–12. DuringTheted directors will also have one-on-one personal mentoring sessions. The during the spring and summersecond workshop will take place in Oulu during the festival on August 20–21. The process will largely be based on peer discussions and constructive feedback. The working language of the workshops is English.

Mentors

Mika Taanila (b. 1965) is one of Finland’s most internationally recognized contemporary artists. His experimental films have been screened at prestigious venues such as the Venice Biennale, Documenta, Toronto International Film Festival, IFFR Rotterdam, and IDFA. Taanila is also a pioneer of Finnish music videos, with his works for 22-Pistepirkko and Circle now part of the Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art collection. In 2015, Taanila received the Ars Fennica Award.

Marcus Söderlund (b. 1976) graduated as a film director from the University of Gothenburg in 2007. He has directed music videos for artists such as Yung Lean and The XX, as well as commercial spots for Apple and McLaren. His work has earned him four Grammy nominations, the Kodak Cinematography Award, and recognition on Pitchfork’s best video lists. Söderlund has also been consistently named one of the top commercial directors by Campaign Magazine

Application Instructions

Submit a free-form application explaining why you are applying for the program and what you expect from it. You may include details about the project you would like to create during the program. The project can be a music video for an artist/band or another type of music-related video piece you plan to produce within the year.

The application must include the following information:

–Name, email address, phone number, and postal address
–Motivation letter (max. one A4 page)
–CV
—Links to a maximum of three work samples

Save the application as a single PDF file and send it by February 10 at 11:59 PM to joel@omvf.net.

The program is open to all Finnish or Finland-based creators, regardless of age or background, who have experience in music video production but have not yet achieved international success or won the Kultapumpeli Award.

Additional information

Joel Karppanen, Artistic Director
Email: joel@omvf.net
Phone: +358400901715

Photo: Juho Liukkonen / Midnight Sun Film Festival