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41st Oulu International Children's and Youth Film Festival
Little Big Heroes Fill the Screen
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The Oulu International Children's and Youth Film Festival will take place for the 41st time on 12–20 November 2022.

In addition to grand adventures, the programme includes characters familiar to children from books and particularly impactful and thought-provoking films for young people. Both short and feature films will bring you good cheer and guarantee a memorable experience for the whole family. This year's theme country is Ukraine, and the festival will feature both fiction and non-fiction films connected to the country.

The festival's target audiences are especially children, young people and families – there is something for all ages!

Children’s Film Competition Opens with Roi

Completed this autumn, an adventure film for the whole family, Roi, will be previewed at the festival. The film, shot mainly in the city of Raahe, is directed by Rane Tiukkanen and written by Antti Kairakari and Aleksi Puranen. It is based on the German shepherd Roi  book series written by Jorma Kurvinen from the 1970s onwards. Produced by Lucy Loves Drama and Whatevergroup, the film is the streaming service C More's first domestic original film.

Roi is shortlisted for the Oulu ECFA Award for Best European Children's Film. Roi will be screened as the opening film of the festival on Monday 14th of November. Members of the cast and crew will be present.

Resourceful Children Get Things Moving

Children also take reins in other Finnish adventure films. In addition to Roi, the films Detective Agency Henkka & Kivimutka, Vinski and the Invisibility Powder and The Exploits of Moominpappa - the Adventures of a Young Moomin are based on books; all of these films show how children's curiosity and courage help them solve problems.

My Robot Brother peeks into the future and Stop My Stepmom! takes place in a fairytalelike world. Wild adventures beckon in the films Chickenhare and the Hamster of Darkness and The Ghastly Brothers. The Path tells the gripping story of escape during the Second World War.

Big Choices and the Joy of Youth

In the powerful youth films The Albanian Virgin and Free Skate, the protagonists face life-changing decisions. The exhilarating joy of youth and the endurance of friendship are experienced in Girl Picture and Adventures Italian Style. The world of social media influencing is explored in the topical Parents vs. Influencers, which makes you feel the generation gap sometimes can’t be bridged.

Ukraine in Focus

In this special programme we see the fast-paced animated adventure for the whole family, Gulliver Returns (Ukraine 2020), but also the more serious Olga (Switzerland, France 2021), about a tenacious Ukrainian gymnast. A real speciality is a short documentary about everyday life in the midst of war, filmed by an 11-year-old Ukrainian girl.

Films in Competition

There are ten films in the Children's Film Competition, six in the Youth Film Competition, thirteen in the Finnish Competition and nine films competing for the ECFA Award given to the Best European Children's Film and six competing for the ECFA Short Film Award given to the Best European Children’s Short Film.

In addition to the competitions, the festival will also feature special programmes. The late Finnish actor Vesa-Matti Loiri, who passed away in August, will be remembered in three rarely seen short films produced by the Finnish broadcaster Yle in the 1970s. Also featured are the Kaleidoscope programme, a short film compilation curated by the Nordic Junior Sessions project of the Nordic children’s film festivals and a comprehensive selection of other short films. Films made by children and young people take part in the Oskari competition. The festival, which attracts around 30 000 visitors a year, has almost a hundred films in its programme.

Children's Film Competition

CHICKENHARE AND THE HAMSTER OF DARKNESS  Belgium, France 2022, directed by Ben Stassen, Benjamin Mousquet
DETECTIVE AGENCY HENKKA & KIVIMUTKA  Finland 2022, directed by Väinö Weckström, Jarkko Felin
THE GHASTLY BROTHERS  Belgium, The Netherlands 2021, directed by Michael Van Ostade
GULLIVER RETURNS  Ukraine 2020, directed by Ilya Maksimov
HOW TO GET YOUR PARENTS TO DIVORCE  Canada 2022, directed by Sandrine Brodeur-Desrosiers
KIDS CUP  Norway, Denmark, Finland 2021, directed by Line Hatland
MY ROBOT BROTHER  Denmark 2022, directed by Frederik Nørgaard
ROI  Finland 2022, directed by Rane Tiukkanen
STOP MY STEPMOM!  Hungary 2021, directed by Kata Dobó, Buda Gulyás
TOO OLD FOR FAIRY TALES  Poland 2022, directed by Kristoffer Rus

Youth Film Competition

ADVENTURES ITALIAN STYLE  Italy 2020, directed by Antonio Pisu
THE ALBANIAN VIRGIN  Germany, Belgium, Albania, Kosovo 2021, directed by Bujar Alimani
FREE SKATE  Finland 2022, directed by Roope Olenius
GIRL PICTURE  Suomi 2022, directed by Alli Haapasalo
OLGA  Switzerland, France 2021, directed by Elie Grappe
PARENTS VS. INFLUENCERS  Italia, 2021, directed by Michela Andreozzi

Finnish Competition

ALL MY MOM’S PHONE CALLS  Finland 2021, directed by Iiti Yli-Harja
BLACK PEIDER  Finland 2022, directed by Jukka Vidgren
BLANKET  Finland 2021, directed by Teppo Airaksinen
DETECTIVE AGENCY HENKKA & KIVIMUTKA  Finland 2022, directed by Väinö Weckström, Jarkko Felin
THE EXPLOITS OF MOOMINPAPPA – ADVENTURES OF A YOUNG MOOMIN  Finland 2022, directed by Ira Carpelan
FREE SKATE  Finland 2022, directed by Roope Olenius
GIRL PICTURE  Finland 2022, directed by Alli Haapasalo
GROUNDED  Finland 2022, directed by Samuli Hahl
A LETTER TO MY COACH  Finland 2022, directed by Maria Hiekkamäki
MAD FROM THE SUN  Finland 2021, directed by Anna Äärelä
THE PAPER  Finland 2022, directed by Katariina Haukka
ROI  Finland 2022, directed by Rane Tiukkanen
VINSKI AND THE INVISIBILITY POWDER  Finland 2021, directed by Juha Wuolijoki

ECFA Short Film Award

ALL MY MOM’S PHONE CALLS  Finland 2021, directed by Iiti Yli-Harja
BLANKET  Finland 2021, directed by Teppo Airaksinen
ORCHESTRA FROM THE LAND OF SILENCE  Slovakia, Afganistan 2020, directed by Lucia Kasova
[SHORT DOCYMENTARY]  Ukraine 2022
SILENT TREATMENT  Czech Republic 2021, directed by Pavol Hirjak
SMILE  Sweden 2021, directed by Jonas Forsman

Award Ceremony on Saturday 19th of November

The Award Ceremony, where the juries will award the winners of the competitions, will take place on Saturday 19th of November.

Changes in programme are possible.

You can also follow the festival on social media:
www.facebook.com/lastenjanuortenelokuvienfestivaali
www.instagram.com/oulufilmfestival
www.tiktok.com/@oulufilmfestival

For more information, please contact:
Festival director Mika Anttolainen, mika.anttolainen@oufilmcenter.fi
Festival producer Marja Seppänen, producer@oufilmcenter.fi

Oulu Film Centre, www.oulunelokuvakeskus.fi/oek
Hallituskatu 7 (Cultural Centre Valve)
90100 Oulu, Finland