VJ Competition 2023 winner is AnniMurtosaariArt 

The VJ Competition 2023 culminated on Saturday 21 October at Väinö Linna square, where four video jockeys were presenting their visuals live in front of the audience and the Jury. The live competition was organized by Tampere Film Festival for the second time as a part of the Media and Light Art Event Projio, and this year approximately 1,000 visitors attended the performances during the evening.

In the competition, the visuals were projected on the facades of the old industrial buildings and the perfomances were evaluated by the professional Jury – Hannu Hellsten (VJ Hellstone), Suvi Parrilla (VJ SSuvereeni) and Teemu Raudaskoski (VJ QI) – and the audience, who had a chance to choose their favourite VJ by voting. Both the Jury and the audience selected AnniMurtosaariArt as the winner, and the VJ was awarded the Main Prize of 600 euros and the Lippu.fi sponsor prize as the Audience Award. 

Other finalists in the 2023 competition were VJ KeFF, monautomaton and Twilight Courier, and the music selector was DJ Serial Kitty. 

Visual candy in an inspiring setting

Anni Murtosaari is a team formed by a VJ and event decorator Anni Murtosaari and Jaron “Jaroneko” Räty, who assisted in the competition. The team makes decoration design, LED and VJ gigs together under the name Dekoneko. Anni Murtosaari has a decade of experience in event design, which has also sparked her interest in light and VJ art.

In the acceptance speech, the winner praised the competition’s settings and ease: for a VJ who does a lot of gigs, the evening didn’t bring many surprises, but what was particularly enjoyable was that there was no need to worry about the technical aspects or messing around with projectors:

– It was great to be able to offer visual candy on such a large wall! However, the time was somewhat short compared to the fact that normal VJ sets can last all night, when you can really get into a good flow. This time, you had to think a bit about what to create in just fifteen minutes.

Anni Murtosaari charmed the Jury with their versatility

Despite the short performance time, AnniMurtosaariArt’s live show was full of visual delights. According to the Jury, the VJ’s 15-minute performance was packed with details, and within a brief time, it showcased a wide variety of content and technical skills. The artist also used both walls skillfully, and the performance featured distinctive narrative elements.

– This time, the competition was won by the more experienced team, AnniMurtosaariArt, whose performance was inspiring, diverse, and beautifully synchronized with the music. The team knew how to structure the content and paid great attention to the details of the buildings. Overall, the competition was fantastic, and the atmosphere at Väinö Linna Square was warm throughout the evening. There was great camaraderie among the finalists, and it was wonderful to see new visual artists with fresh ideas, commented the chair of the Jury, Hannu Hellsten.

Tampere Film Festival wants to thank all the participants in the competition and the audience for creating a joyful and enthusiastic atmosphere for the competition. The successful event was made possible by the co-operating event partners, especially the team at Stereo:ID, who organized Projio.

The next opportunity to enjoy events by Tampere FilmFestival will be next year 6–10 March 2024. See you then!

Tampere Film Festival’s VJ Competition was organised at Väinö Linna square on 21 October in collaboration with Projio, Stereo:ID and Finlayson Area. The event was made possible by Varma Pension Insurance Company. Other supporters of the 2023 competition are Jakopalvelu, Panimoravintola Plevna, Barbus, Lippu.fi and Finnkino.