About us
Oulu International Children's and Youth Film Festival
The Oulu International Children's and Youth Film Festival is an annual children's and youth film screening event and competition in Oulu. The festival is scheduled for November and is organized by the Oulu Film Centre.
The festival offers a unique opportunity to see numerous films that cannot be seen anywhere else in Finland. The event presents new international children's and youth film production, diversifying the cultural offering in the Oulu region. The target group is especially local children, young people and their families.
The film festival is divided into five competitions: Children's Film Competition, Youth Film Competition, Finnish Competition, Best European Children's Film and Best European Children's Short Film.
The festival presents the Children's Film Competition Award in the Children's Film Competition, the Global Future Prize in the Youth Film Competition, Look at Me... Award in the Finnish Competition and the ECFA awards for the best European children's film and children's short film. In addition to the competitions, festival films are also screened in special programmes, which are e.g. Shorts, Kaleidoscope, Classics, and other changing themes.
The festival is visited by prominent domestic and international film-maker guests every year. Moreover, the festival also features other diverse and interesting events.
The films are screened during the festival week in the Valve Main Hall and the Studio Cinema at the Cultural Centre Valve. Other venues usually include Finnkino Plaza Oulu and the Oulu City Library.
Every year, the festival collaborates extensively with other cultural events, associations and businesses in the region. Especially the strong cooperation with local schools makes it possible for hundreds of school and kindergarten groups to participate in the film festival each year.
Visitors
The Oulu International Children's and Youth Film Festival has been held in Oulu since 1982. Through its long-term activities, the festival has established its position in the cultural offerings of the Oulu region and attracts about 30,000 visitors yearly.