One of the four Riga International Film Festival (RIGA IFF) competition sections, the regionally unique celebration of the audiovisual art and music, has taken a new shape this festival edition, with expanded geographical reach and an exciting host of prizes. This year, music videos created by Baltic artists or produced in one of the three Baltic countries will compete for a monetary award from Erica Synths, filming equipment provided by BBrental, and additional prizes. Entries for RIGA IFF Baltic Music Video Competition are open till 30 June. 

Offering the audiences a more extensive insight into the synergy of music and moving image and giving artists beyond the Baltic states a chance to compete for the prize pool, the geographical scope of the RIGA IFF Baltic Music Video competition (BMV) has been expanded this year. Keeping the focus on the creative works either produced in or by artists from the Baltics, RIGA IFF calls for entries from the entire world, as long as their director or musicians represent Latvia, Lithuania, or Estonia, or the video was made in either of the countries.

“More and more local directors, producers, and musicians tend to collaborate with creatives outside of the Baltics, so this year, RIGA IFF Baltic Music Video Competition will open the door even wider to international music videos with the intent of fostering future collaborations and marking the Baltics as a destination for high calibre creative projects,”

this edition’s changes are described by BMV curator, director Žanete Skarule.

This year, the BMV main prize is presented by the festival partners BBrental – a full-service filming equipment rental house –, and the manufacturer of electronic musical instruments, Erica Synths. The team of the winning music video will receive filming equipment from BBrental worth EUR 3,000 for their next music video production. The competition’s main cash prize, EUR 1,000 from music technologies business Erica Synths, will help cover winners’ other filming-related expenses.

The contestants will also compete for other special prizes from RIGA IFF partners. Erica Synths will present their two favourite musicians with special mention prizes – sound effects synthesizer Echolocator and drum synthesizer LXR. Meanwhile, one music video, chosen by Oulu Music Video Festival artistic director Joel Karppanen, will travel to the world’s oldest music video festival held in Finland and participate in the final of its European music video competition.

Submissions for BMV are open till 30 June. As usual, the programme will feature a wide variety of music genres and bold visual language, however, videos displaying cinematic ambitions, an unrelenting desire for experimentation, and a quest for new fusions of audiovisual expression are especially welcome. For competition regulations and submissions, please visit enter.rigaiff.lv and filmfreeway.com/rigaiff.