Sun 09 Sep 2007 01:03:00 AM EEST

Oulu Music Video Festival awarded the best Finnish music videos for the 14th time. The jury and festival-goers picked their favourites among the videos finished during the past year. 113 videos that had made it to the contest competed for the Pumpeli Awards and Honorary Mentionings decided by the jury. The People's Pumpeli Award was chosen by the festival-goers.

The Helsinki-based director collective Las Palmas received the main prizes in an experienced manner, as the Golden and People's Pumpeli Awards were given to the collective for the second time in a row. In addition to the Golden Pumpeli Award the collective received the 2 500 euros monetary prize from newspaper Kaleva. The prizes were thanks to the Come Clean video for Montevideo. The Teen Pumpeli Award for a young, promising director was handed to J-M Kenttälä and Petra Pöyliö along with Avid Xpress Pro and Liquid editing softwares. The winning video was Moses Hazy's Suck My Elbow. The unique musical Pumpeli statuettes are crafted by Oulu-based instrument artist Kimmo Nissinen.

The assisting music manager of The Voice, Jani Kangasniemi, was the head of jury. Other jurors included Music Video Commissioner and creative consultant Vez and Johanna Niemelä. Vez is a freelancer who works as a link between the video maker and the artist. Her artistic effort can be seen in music videos released by Britain's greatest indie labels. Niemelä was selected to represent the consumers in the radio channel YleX contest. She studies marketing in the Pirkanmaa Polytechnic/University of Applied Sciences.

Here are the general comments from the jury:

"A good music video is an intense and controlled package. This year's videos featured many good ideas, but their implementation was often left unfinished. Creating a story that would carry through a short music video is still not easy. The jury was left longing for a mind-blowing music video experience - a piece with both high technical expertise and a strong idea."

RESULTS AND THE JURY'S COMMENTS:

THE GOLDEN PUMPELI
- Las Palmas: Montevideo, Come Clean
A great combination of the band and fantasy world produced by animation. The piece has been implemented by mixing different techniques. The story has several layers, and you'd want to watch it over and over again. The video and the music complement one another, creating a magical feeling.

THE TEEN PUMPELI
- J-M Kenttälä & Petra Pöyliö: Moses Hazy, Suck My Elbow
This video has all it takes to rock! The band rules and handles the instruments skillfully. The song proceeds and accelerates the atmosphere like a steam engine. Technically a very ambitious piece of art with creative solutions and many hilarious details.

THE PEOPLE'S PUMPELI
- Las Palmas: Montevideo, Come Clean

A lovely, fairytale-like feeling. A music video with quality!

A light-hearted and beautiful animation. Fits nicely with the song's mood!

A beautiful video, lovely song, brilliant both technically and artistically!

Those owls and fish.

THE HONORARY MENTIONINGS:

- Henrik Mennander: Ruoska, Mies yli laidan
An apocalyptic film fantasy. A visually impressive piece that stands out from the masses. The video supports the band's image successfully.

- Miikka Lommi: PMMP, Joku raja
A tough text has been turned into an even tougher video. The implementation with its environment loaned from everyday life is sure to arise opinions.

- Vesa-Matti Vainio: Timo Rautiainen, Outolintu
The video is like a scale model of a Finnish film. The tight story rides on guy humor, toward its sequel.

- Kari Salmi & Jenny Rinta-Kanto: Déclassé, Shadows
The music and visual implementation of the video create a strong, dream-like feeling. A tasteful piece with a story that's open for interpretation.

- Veera Luhtala: Pariisin kevät, Samoilla raiteilla
The director has a strong, original style and a bold vision. The visual world of the video is personal and fascinating.

- Akseli Tuomivaara: Deep Insight, New Day
A simple video with the band playing has been turned into something impressive. The video introduces the best sides of the energetic band.

Press photos of the awarded music videos can be found at:
http://www.omvf.net/EN/press/press-photos.html