Oulu Music Video Festival was held last weekend to a record audience

The Oulu Music Video Festival, held from August 27–30, 2026, drew a record total of 7,877 visitors. Several of the screenings sold out.

Screenings presented to full houses included the experimental short film programmes Babylon Revisited and City Symphony 2.0, Simon Fisher Turner and Niko Hallikainen’s live version of Derek Jarman’s Blue, It’s Not A Sin, a compilation of Jarman’s music videos, and Mykistäviä välikohtauksia, which brought together gems from the Bad Vugum record label. Other popular screenings included films by the festival’s guest director Ben Russell, Anna Eriksson’s masterclass, and Velinen Sunday, held for the 15th time.

“With the Hauntopolis theme, we wanted to build a temporary music video city in Oulu, and no city is a city without people. I am deeply moved by how many people found their way to the screenings, and especially by how visibly happy people seemed. The atmosphere at the festival was exceptionally warm this year,” says OMVF Artistic Director Joel Karppanen.

A total of 413 music videos were submitted to the music video competitions. The main prize of the European Music Video Competition, the Europumpeli, which was organised for the first time, was awarded to French directors Anouk Moyaux and Huiqin Li for their video Glox Olia – Lluvia de Ceniza. An honourable mention was awarded to Austrian Tina Frank for her video General Magic – Datna Éclat.

The main prize of the Finnish competition, the Kultapumpeli, was awarded to Ida-Maria Olva for her video Olva – Keijut ja perhoset. The Teinipumpeli award for a promising young director was awarded to Seena Talvi for the video Turisti – Leipää. The Linssipumpeli was awarded to Annika Miettinen, and the Postpumpeli to Juha Ilmari Laine. Honourable mentions were awarded to Sami Sänpäkkilä, Eino Manner, Minna Långström, and Atte Merikallio.

The awards ceremony, the Pumpeligaala, held at RioLive, was hosted by Karri “Paleface” Miettinen. Performers at the gala included Icelandic Ronja, German Black to Comm, and Aatos Ketvel, who provided live accompaniment to the silent film classic Europa (1930). Finally, Danish duo Sisso & Maiko captivated the audience and kept the music video crowd dancing at the afterparty as well. The gala was directed by Oulu-based artist Sisko Iljana.

Next year, OMVF’s international competition will expand from a European competition to a global one, and the next Oulu Music Video Festival will be held in August 2027. Submissions for the international and Finnish competitions will open this autumn.