The festival starts today!

The first day of the Oulu Music Video Festival will start with screenings of the domestic competition entries, which will run at Studio Cinema at 12–17 o’clock every hour on the hour. The screenings of the competition transport the viewer to five different realities: The world of Prypjat is colored by heavy and industrial tones; in Pompeii, intertwining bodies are emphasized. Atlantis and Shangri-La head toward myths, dreams, and spirituality, while Eldorado shines in the colors of gold, glamour, and new promises. Together, the screenings form a diverse overview of the current field of Finnish music video. All competition entry shows are free of charge.

At Valvesali, the festival program starts with The Legend of Mr. Lovely, presented by AGWC, at 14 o’clock. The tradition of collaboration between OMVF and the Air Guitar World Cup is showcased by a documentary that follows former air guitar star Michael “Op Rock” Lovely's journey back to the competition stages after years of hiatus. Starting in the forests of New England, the return journey runs through the United States and ends in Oulu, the world championship for air guitar. After the screening, the audience will have the opportunity to participate in a Q&A discussion of the creators.

The undisputed highlight of Thursday night is the opening performance of the festival Blue (Live) at 18.30 in Valvesali. Derek Jarman's legendary final film, Blue, is seen as a unique live version in which the original composer of the film, Simon Fisher Turner, presents an updated musical interpretation of the work. The poetic intimacy of Jarman's texts is interpreted live by award-winning author and performance poet Niko Hallikainen. The performance, having its opening night in Finland and the Nordic countries, combines experimental film, music and literature in a way that is not possible to experience anywhere else.

The opening night programme continues at 20.30 with a screening of Signals From Other Cities, curated by an international network built around the Ugandan Nyege Nyege collective. The music videos of the show transport the viewer to cities such as Kampala, Kinshasa, Dar es Salaam and Durban, where music, technology and local ingenuity create alternative prospects for the future. The ensemble offers a rare opportunity to explore the most interesting currents of experimental music and audiovisual culture in Africa.

The evening programme of Studio Cinema will focus on the history of the northern underground. Starting at 17.00, Bad Vugum: Stunning Incidents brings together music videos from Oulu-based label Bad Vugum from the 1990s. Built around the cornerstones of alternative music (including Radiopuhelimet, Circle, Aavikko, Keuhkot), the show highlights a time when music videos were made by volunteers, experimenting and against all expectations. Curator Ida Karoskoski and video makers and performers will be present at the screening.

The festival programme is complemented by the screenings of music videos submitted but not selected for the competition at Snooker Time; Kotimainen katselmus screenings will occur every hour on the hour from 16–21 in the upstairs of Snooker (on-site signage will guide you there). In addition, Valvegallery will feature the audiovisual exhibition Ghost Archives (9–21 o’clock), and Gallery MABD exhibits a joint exhibition of the UOMA project (13–20 o’clock).

An artist and curator meeting between Mika Taanila and Saara Karhunen will be held at the City Hall at 4 p.m. From 12–21 o’clock, in Valve's Silakkalounge, DJ’s Tenko (at 12–14), Elith (14–16), Liian (16–18) and J Kristian (18–21) play music to which you can orient yourself to the shows or exchange thoughts about videos you have just seen with friends.

The first day of the festival culminates at 22.00 in Mallaslabra, where the Helsinki-based act Olimpia Splendid and the Oulu-based Duo Tomu perform.

The festival's daily schedules, ticket and additional information can be found at omvf.net.