Oulu Music Video Festival attracted huge audiences

The Oulu Music Video Festival, held on August 21–24, 2025, attracted a total of 5,845 visitors. Ticket sales for special and film screenings doubled compared to last year, with many of them playing to full houses. Particularly popular were Mr. Lordi – Carte Blanche, In the World of Tomorrow (featuring Mika Taanila’s and Erkki Kurenniemi’s short films), the documentary Eno, and David Lynch music video special.

The 32nd edition of the festival was more international than ever before. Thanks to the newly launched International Competition, dozens of guests visited Oulu from Sweden, Denmark, Norway, and Iceland. The Nordic Music Video Competition was won by Norwegian director August Sander Dahl for Honningbarna – Rød Bic, while honorable mentions went to Icelandic filmmakers Anna Róshildur B. Bøving and Simon Bendroth. At the packed Pumpeli Awards ceremony in RioLive, audiences were mesmerized by Swedish-Iranian artist Nadia Tehran, while the afterparty featured a set by South African-born, Paris-based Portable.

“I’m speechless at the warmth that radiated throughout Valve and its surroundings over the weekend. This year’s festival proved that there’s an appetite for an ambitious and artistically challenging program. We are a truly unique festival, even on an international scale, and this new wave of internationalization is absolutely the right direction,” says OMVF artistic director Joel Karppanen.

Hyperreality–themed festival featured films and music videos from Belgium, the United States, Canada, Germany, the UK, and Argentina, among others. Highlights included the live performance Lunar Dust by Austrian artist Billy Roisz and Ilpo Väisänen (Pan Sonic), a silent film concert accompanied by Norwegian act The Gloria, the Finnish premiere of Harmony Korine’s Baby Invasion, the abstract short film program Synaesthetic Dreams, retrospectives of Marcus Söderlund and Kalevi Suopursu, the Assembly-curated Demoscene screening, masterclasses by Roos Hekkens and Veli Kauppinen, as well as screenings of Chantal Akerman’s Golden Eighties, Francis Ford Coppola’s One from the Heart: Reprise, and Disney’s Fantasia. Special programs God Mode and Enter Simulationfeatured works by filmmakers such as Johann Lurf and Phil Solomon, while karaoke fans flocked to the nostalgic Idols Season 1 sing-along screening. Several films were screened from 16mm and 35mm prints, with a last-minute addition of David Lynch’s Industrial Symphony No. 1 from LaserDisc.

The Finnish Music Video Competition received 288 submissions this year, screened across seven competition programs and sixteen showcases. The main award, the Golden Pumpeli, went to Heini Susanne for NCO – Ei rakkaut. The Lens Pumpeli was awarded to Hannu Käki for Kissa Uolevi & Sebastiwan – Vierelläin, while the Post Pumpeli went to Sexmane – V!ttu, directed by kaverikarimin. Honorable mentions were given to Miikka Lommi, Eva-Liisa Orupõld, Oliver Webb, and Jaro Koho. The Audience Pumpeli was awarded to Yoki – Oon pahoillani, directed by Timo Vehkaoja.

The Teen Pumpeli was awarded to Aatos Ketvel for Kirsikkapuu – Kirsikkapuu kaatuu. Ketvel developed and produced the video as part of the festival’s Next Wave mentorship program, launched earlier this year. Works by other participants—Ilona Lehtonen, Krasimir Jovanovic Hyvärinen, Joonas Lind, and Carmen Baltzar—were also screened as part of the professional program. Other industry events included short mentoring sessions open to all directors, a networking event organized by the North Finland Film Commission, and a joint city reception hosted by OMVF and the Air Guitar World Championships.

The festival also featured numerous live performances, including Swedish artist Noreena McLeave, Corporate Ukulele(Lauri Antikainen & Ville Sirviö), Nykypost, Möyhy-Veikot, Tero, Ojelma, Malsson, Jani Pitkänen, Ola Lyysgaard, and LNA. At Valve’s Silakkalounge, 17 local DJs performed, while OMVF’s own music video jukebox entertained at the afterparties.

At Valvegalleria, a group exhibition curated by Antti Tenetz brought together works from seven artists: Alan Abrahams, Liina Holmes, Monika Hauck, Inkeri Jäntti, Krasimir Jovanovic Hyvärinen, Hugo Murtoniemi, and Rastapunka.

The next Oulu Music Video Festival will take place on August 27–30, 2026. As part of Oulu’s European Capital of Culture year, the festival will launch a new European Music Video Competition. Submissions for the international competition open at the end of 2025.,