A few short years ago I could have asked most anybody if they had ever seen a ‘swede’ and they would have looked at me like I was speaking a foreign language; a what you said? A swede? Today I think many of you know exactly what I’m asking about; if not, after reading this you should at least have a sense of the growing movement created here in Fresno known as Swede Fest.
Swede Fest was founded in 2008 by two of Fresno’s most creative, Roque Rodriquez and Bryan Harley. The free event takes place twice a year, the next one being this May. Swede Fest is an opportunity for aspiring film creators to show off their 4-5 minute unique take on a Hollywood movie or TV show. The name “swede” comes from the movie Be Kind Rewind (starring Jack Black and Mos Def), where two bumbling store clerks inadvertently erase the footage from all of the tapes in their video rental store. In order to keep the business running, they re-shoot every film in the store with their own camera, with a budget of zero dollars.
Swede Fest has garnered a lot of attention as of late, with reviews and commentary on tv and the internet; including those from director Jon Favreau, actor Tom Hiddleston. I had the opportunity to speak with co-creator Roque Rodriquez about the movements continued success, “The last Swede Fest set the bar very high. With a record turnout and national media attention, we’ve had to step our game up and the things we have set in motion for the next festival are going to be awesome for all the participants and attendees! Keep checking www.swedefest.com for the latest info and keep the month of May open in your calendar book”.
I have had the privilege of attending 6 of the previous 8 but if you want to get all caught up before Swede Fest 9 you can head on over to their website, pop some corn and enjoy such blockbusters as La Bamba, The Princess Diaries, Speed, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Top Gun, Seven and many more!
See you at the movies,
Jason
I love where I live, and I also love what I do. I'm lucky to be able to work in a profession in which I get to build relationships; one that has me meeting new people each and every day and helping them to build new lives in my beloved city. I'm lucky enough to work in a profession in which I can marry cutting-edge technologies and marketing techniques to good, old-fashioned, nose-to-the-grindstone work. I am lucky enough to work in a profession that allows me to work as an advocate for my clients; to use every tool at my disposal to get a job done well for them, and with as little stress and expense as possible.
I love my city. I love my job. One inspires my excellence for the other.
Fresno? I say FresYES
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This just in… as I reviewed my post I saw that the guys over at http://www.dumbdrum.com/ have made it official, Swede Fest 9 will be held at Sierra Vista Cinemas 16 in Clovis, CA on May 24th!