AMV Competition

Basic rules and restrictions

Your video will take part in the preliminary qualification judging if you send it no later than October 20, 2025 11.59 pm EET. Being physically present at the finals is recommended, but not mandatory. In case of Kotae Expo’s tickets selling out, the finalists have been reserved one ticket per person which they can buy.

Schedule

• The application period for the competition starts on Saturday, May 10
• The application period for the competition ends on Monday, October 10, 11.59 pm EET
• The results of the preliminary qualification round will be sent via e-mail no later than Thursday, November 10
• The time slot for the finals at Kotae Expo will be published at a later date

When applying for the competition, the competitor must state their real name for the organizers, but it’s possible to compete using a nickname. The videos must be send via the transfer service provided by the organizers. The instructions for sending the videos can be found at the end of the rules. Videos sent via other services will be disqualified, YouTube links included.

Videos that have previously been finalists in other AMV Competitions, or won awards or honorary mentions will not be accepted to Kotae Expo’s competition.

You can take part in the competition with a video self-edited by one person or multiple people in which the majority of the visual media used (minimum 60%) is from an East Asian or Southeast Asian source. Accepted media sources are anime, manga and East and Southeast Asian animations, comics, video games, fictional TV series and fictional movies. Combining different types of media (e.g. anime and live action in the same video) is allowed.

The audio of the video must be mainly music, but the inclusion of e.g. spoken dialogue is accepted.

Most of the audio (minimum 70%) must be music in a way that the criteria of a music video is fulfilled, for example the usage of trailers, TV commercials or dialogue from old Finnish cartoon dubs don’t fill this criteria. We won’t accept videos with poor audio quality. There’s no restrictions in the country of origin of the audio material (music, dialogue, sound effects).

The competitors name and/or nickname, anime subtitles, original TV channel logos, streaming service logos or opening & ending animations (OP/ED) with staff credits must NOT be included in the video.
Use the best possible quality available for your materials. The recommended video file format is MP4, but we accept other common file formats as well. The recommended resolutions for the videos are 1920×1080 or 1280×720. The smallest accepted resolution is 480×360. Please take into account that the equipment at the finals can’t run videos with higher frame rate than 30 fps. If there’s any trouble with the playback of your video, please understand that the competition organizer might have to export the video to another, working file format. Aim to export your video with the same resolution as your source material.
Explicit material is not allowed, so think about your video material carefully. The minimum length of the video is 1 minute (1:00) and the maximum length of the video is 4 minutes (4:00).
Each competitor is allowed to send 3 videos for the judging. Collaborative videos with many editors are accepted, but these videos will be counted as one video for all editors, so if you take part in editing multiple different videos, all of them will be counted towards the maximum of 3 videos per editor.

If a collaborative video wins, the editors will be given one shared award.

The organizer of the AMV Competition or their immediate family (partner, spouse or family member) are not allowed to take part in the competition.

The organizers are not accountable for the damage caused by faulty contact information or e-mail issues out of the control of the organizer.

Checking the videos when sending

Aim to send your videos well in advance. The organizers check the arriving videos throughout the application period to see if they’re within the competition’s rules and notify the competitors of possible problems. If the application period is still open, the competitor can make the necessary fixes to make their video fit the rules of the competition. If the video doesn’t follow the rules and is not edited to follow the rules as per the organizers’ request, the video will be disqualified. We will always contact the competitor should problems arise.

Preliminary qualification round and judging

The AMV Competition organizer checks all sent videos so they don’t break the competition rules. If a video breaks the rules, the organizer will contact the competitor via the e-mail given in the application form.

A pre-chosen jury judges the competition. Each member of the jury judges the videos on their own, after which the jury will decide the winners of each category by discussing the videos with each other and using the scoring system as a frame of reference. One video can win multiple awards. The AMV Competition organizer decides the order in which the videos are shown in the finale.

The judges will be published later.

Are you interested in judging the AMV competition? The judge applications are open for all!

The awards

Judge’s Choices

The best in competition, places 1 to 3
Three best videos that made an impression on the judges in all judging criteria. The videos are a combination of high-level editing, compelling storytelling or concept and atmosphere like no other.

Best technical
The best audiovisual video. The judging is based on the editor’s cuts, effects, flow and audio work. The video doesn’t have to have a story.

Best fantasy
Take the viewer on a magical journey to a fantasy world, make an epic action video out of a battle between characters with super powers or show a day in the life of a dragon — only the sky is the limit!

Special awards

Audience’s Choice
The audience gets to vote for their favorite video. The link to the voting will be shared to the audience during the competition. To vote you need an internet connection and a Kompassi account.

Organizer’s Choice
The AMV Competition organizer picks their favorite video out of the competition.

All awards will be given at the end of the show. The organizers reserve the right to change the awards.

The handling of personal information

The personal information of the participants will only be handled by the organizer of the AMV Competition, the event organizers and the people responsible for the transfer service. During the competition, the names or nicknames of the editors as well as the video’s information will be shown. The editors can choose whether to use their real names or nicknames.

Sending the videos

Name your videos according to this template: ”Nickname-Video_name”. If you’re not using a nickname, use “FirstnameSurname” instead of “Nickname”.

Send your videos via Velhosto Xfer transfer service. Follow the instructions below:

• Go to: xfer.velhosto.fi
• Write Transfer code: kotae25-amv
• On the next page, write your e-mail address, your name and nickname, formatted “First Name Surname (Nickname)”
• Add the video’s information to the Sender Reference section: Video’s name and list of used audio and video materials. Also include information of whether you’re gonna be present at the event, if known.

If the information doesnt fit in the form, you can send it as a separate text file. Do it especially, if you’re sending multiple documents at the same time.

After all this has been taken care of, you can upload videos, images and text to the server. You can upload multiple files at once.

If problems arise, try using the site with another browser first. You can always contact the AMV competition organizer with questions and concers via e-mail: witchii@kotae.fi.

Contact information

If you have any questions regarding the competition, please contact the AMV Competition organizer via e-mail: witchii@kotae.fi.

Handling of conflicts

Should conflicts arise, the primary handler of them is the organizer of the AMV Competition, who represents the event. The organizers of competitions are the highest people in charge and will make the final call in conflict situations, with the help of the rest of the event organization if needed. The competition organizer must handle the appropriate complaints in a reasonable timeframe. The details of the conflict can be used to further improve the rules, but the identities of any third parties are never revealed.

If, for any reason, the conflict can’t be resolved with the organizer of the AMV Competition, it’s possible for  the competitor, other organizers or representatives of the event to contact the Kotae Expo’s main organizer. They can recommend or suggest solutions in the case of a conflict. The power to make the final decision stays with the organizer of the AMV Competition.