Behind the scenes of Roque Rodriguez and Bryan Harley’s sweded “Iron Man 3” trailer (From left: Bryan Harley, Jay Montes as Iron Man, Heather McLane, Roque Rodriguez).
Swede Fest, the only film festival dedicated to “sweded” movies, will make its 12th debut Saturday at the historic Tower Theatre in Downtown Fresno.
Swede Fest founders Roque Rodriguez and Bryan Harley, a Fresno State alumnus, said they launched the festival in 2008 as a way to get the Fresno community involved in filmmaking.
The concept of “swedeing,” Rodriguez said, came from Michel Gondry’s 2008 film “Be Kind Rewind,” starring Jack Black and American hip-hop artist Mos Def.
In the movie, Harley explained, Black and Def work together at a video store. One day, the men accidentally erase all of the store’s VHS tapes and decide to remake the movies with a home video camera before their customers notice.
“They tell their customers that the movies are imported from Sweden, so it’s the ‘sweded’ version of the movie,” Harley said. “That’s where the term comes from. At the end of the movie, the whole community gets together to watch a film they created. We thought that would be a cool concept for a film festival.”
Rodriguez said the term “swede” now refers to a low-budget remake of a Hollywood movie, TV show or music video.
Harley and Rodriguez, both “swedeing” veterans, have created remakes of many films””perhaps most notably Guillermo del Toro’s sci-fi blockbuster “Pacific Rim.”
“We’ve created pretty close to 20 ‘swedes’ between the two of us,” Rodriguez said. “As for favorites, the ‘Pacific Rim’ one we did earlier this year was both challenging and fun. We had a blast making that one.”
The remake, which featured mostly cardboard props and costumes, later gained the film junkies a deal with Legendary Pictures.
“Legendary Pictures, the studio behind ‘Pacific Rim,’ contacted us after watching our ‘sweded’ version of the film’s trailer and collaborated on making more videos to promote the home video release of the film,” Rodriguez said.
After a conference call with the company’s online marketing team, Harley said he and Rodriguez were given creative control to produce several 15-second “mini-swedes” for Instagram.
Rodriguez said Swede Fest encourages people of all ages to get involved in the festival.
“We want everyone to at least have a taste of what goes into making a film and then watching it on the big screen,” he said.
This year’s festival will feature a number of films, including titles such as “Jaws,” “Napoleon Dynamite,” “There Will Be Blood” and “Full House.”
“I’m excited to watch them all,” Harley said. “You never know what to expect, even if you’ve seen the actual movie.”
Unlike many film festivals, Rodriguez said Swede Fest is not a judged event.
“Swede Fest is just about the experience of watching your work on the big screen in front of an audience,” he said. “Swede Fest is like no other film festival in that anyone can really enter without fear.
“We’re hoping to help grow people’s interest in creating their own original movies, to tell their own stories.
“To get there, you have to start somewhere, and we think that creating a ‘swede’ is the perfect first step towards that.”
Harley said the festival encourages people of all ages and experience levels to submit a film.
“What’s great about Swede Fest is it’s really easy to participate,” he said. “Just pick your favorite movie, grab your home video camera or video-capable cell phone, get your friends and family, some homemade props and costumes and just have fun. There’s no wrong way to ‘swede.’”
Although the event is appropriate for all ages, Rodriguez said remakes of R-rated films are not discouraged. But, in order to “swede” such a film, people have to be creative with portrayals of violence and adult situations.
“‘Pulp Fiction’ has been ‘sweded’ in the past, and it was massively successful in making it work for our parameters,” he said.
Rodriguez said the festival also gives all Fresnans, including Fresno State students, an opportunity to explore the Tower District, enjoy free films and support their local community””a “win-win all the way around” in his eyes.
“I challenge any Fresno State student to come to our festival and not leave without the desire to create an entry for the next festival with their fellow students,” he said. “It’s highly infectious, and it serves as a perfect way to flex your creativity.”
Rodriguez said the festival is funded by donations from the community along with help from its sponsors: Fresno Filmworks, the Tower Theatre and GottaLoveFresno.com.
Swede Fest 12 will take place Saturday at the Tower Theatre, 815 E. Olive Ave., in Downtown Fresno. The doors open at 6 p.m., and films begin at 6:30 p.m. Admission is free. Visit swedefest.com for more details.