Oulu International Children's and Youth Film Festival

About

The Oulu International Children's and Youth Film festival has established itself as a premier showcase for the high-profile Nordic and international children's and youth cinema. It was founded in 1982 as the first of its kind in Northern Europe. The festival is always held in the middle of November - during the darkest winter days - and it lasts one week. The competitive main section - with maximum 15 films - offers a wide range of genres for children from 3 up to 13. The Festival's Growing Pains section leads us to the world of the coming-of-age and adult audience. The Finnish Survey presents new Finnish production and it is a forum for the local professionals. The Kaleidoscope programme brings far-away countries near to the local audience. Besides the main sections the festival features retrospectives, children's classics, documentaries, etc. Newspaper Kaleva's Prize is given by a Children's Jury, while the CIFEJ Prize is awarded by an international professional jury. The festival is a home for seminars on media literacy, various exhibitions and animation and game work-shops for children and teachers.

Awards

• STARBOY AWARD: A jury of ten children presents the Starboy award of 3,000 euros and a statuette by Sanna Koivisto, sponsored by the Oulun Energia company, to the director of the best film in the Children's film competition;
• PRIZE OF THE MEDIA FOUNDATION OF THE EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH OF FINLAND: grants a 1500-euro prize to a Finnish feature or short film for children or young people;
• ECFA AWARD: It is awarded to the best European film in international competition by a jury of three ECFA members;
• FOR TOMORROW AWARD: Friends of the Young organisation gives the new For Tomorrow Award to the best youth film of the Oulu International Children’s and Youth Film Festival.

Rules

• The films should not be shorter than 45 minutes (does not apply in Finnish competition).
• Eligible formats are 35 mm and 16 mm film, DCP, Blu-ray and DVD.
• Send DVD with submitted film by mail. The entry form must be accompanied by a dialogue list, if possible in German or English, by some stills, posters and further press material, as well as a short biography, a filmography and a photo of the film's director.

Premiere Requirements

No premiere requirement

Jury and Organizers

Artistic Director Anna Asplund
mobile +358 40 5213 960 | anna.asplund@oufilmcenter.fi

Festival Manager Mika Anttolainen
mobile +358 44 588 1134 | mika.anttolainen@oufilmcenter.fi

Festival Assistant Inka Koutaniemi
assistant@oufilmcenter.fi