International Frozen Nights Festival Lights Up November
The first Frozen Nights festival focuses on films, game design and animation created by children and young people. Oulu will welcome international experts from these fields, as well as filmmakers whose works have been selected for the competition. The festival programme includes a game design masterclass led by Norwegian game designer Per Kristian Coskun and a 2D animation masterclass hosted by Danish animator Rasmus Tobias. Acclaimed BAFTA Award winner Catharina Bøhler will also give a lecture on the impact of digital games on wellbeing and emotional skills. Meanwhile, audiences will have the opportunity to explore the films of Czech animation legend and master of surrealism Jan Švankmajer under the guidance of expert Pavel Bednařík.
Frozen Nights will culminate on Friday, 13 November, with a gala event at Cultural Centre Valve, where the best films in the international children’s and youth film competition will be honoured. The gala will be hosted by Roni Liedes and Miss Lumiere.
A Long-Held Dream Brought to Life
The dream of organising an international film event in Oulu was born more than fifteen years ago. The European Capital of Culture year finally turned those plans into reality.
“We were attending an international festival in Seoul, South Korea, with children from Oulu who were passionate about filmmaking when I set myself the goal that one day we would organise our own international film event for children and young people. Through this event, we want to offer them opportunities to encounter cinematic art and participate in film culture in Oulu, where long-term work in film education has been carried out for many years. Oulu can be regarded as one of the key centres of film education in Finland. At the heart of the festival is art created by children and young people,” says Tommi Nevala, Executive Producer of the Children’s Cultural Centre Kotilo.
Frozen Nights festival events are open to everyone, and almost all programme content is free of charge. The full programme will be published during October on the website of the Children’s Cultural Centre Kotilo.
The festival is organised by the Children’s Cultural Centre Kotilo. Frozen Nights is part of the Oulu European Capital of Culture 2026 programme and is held in conjunction with the Oulu International Children’s and Youth Film Festival.