No budget? That's no problem for Scotland's first social media film festival; 'Sweded' smartphone film challenge planned for quirky XpoNorth festival

Highlands and Islands creative economy support organisation, XpoNorth has teamed up with some of Scotland’s leading brands and organisations to launch Scotland’s first social media film festival.

The week-long festival kicks off on Sunday, June 6, and calls for aspiring filmmakers to submit remakes of classic film scenes, filmed on their smartphones and using household items to create sets, props and costumes. Also known as a "sweded" film – a term first made famous by Jack Black in the 2008 hit film, Be Kind, Rewind – budding filmmakers will be given just 24 hours to create a one-minute clip and upload it to TikTok using the hashtag XpoCreates.

Brands launching a film challenge throughout the week and offering exclusive prizes include tablet maker Mrs Tilly’s; Graham’s the Family Dairy; tiny tasty Millions chewy sweets; Cairngorms National Park; Fringe Festival venue, Pleasance Edinburgh; trade body, Screen Facilities Scotland; BAFTA-winning Glasgow-based digital entertainment company, Blazing Griffin; and Hood Magazine.

Sweded film experts and founders of Swede Fest, California based Roque Rodriguez and Bryan Harley will be running a How to Swede masterclass on Saturday, May 22, giving their tips and tricks to creating a truly original and funny sweded film.

The masterclass is free to attend and pre-registration is available at https://xponorth.co.uk/events/xpocreates-how-to-swede

XpoNorth’s film and broadcast sector specialist, Jessica Fox said: “This past year has been extremely tough for the film industry, with most sets being closed, cinemas shut and film launches being delayed, but the creativity and innovation in the industry continues to shine and that’s what we want to celebrate with the launch of XpoCreates. It’s a chance to get creative and try something new, as well as receive advice and support from experts in the industry. But more importantly, its about having fun and the opportunity for everyone to share and collaborate to inspire our future generation of moviemakers.”

#XpoCreates takes place in the lead up to the XpoNorth 2021 Creative Industries conference.

For further details visit www.xponorth.co.uk

Do you want to respond to this article? If so, click here to submit your thoughts and they may be published in print.