Swede Fest 6 is a wrap!

The rush from Swede Fest 6 lasted well into the night on Saturday. I mean, we had just had our biggest crowd ever and seats were so limited that people were laying on the ground in front of the big screen. That embodied the very spirit of watching movies together with friends, jockeying for position with others in an attempt to secure the best seat in the house. People were laughing, memories were being made and ideas were no doubt spawned. That made me feel very, very happy and I’d like to thank everyone who took the time to create an entry for Swede Fest. Without you all, there would be no festival. And although we’re not at the point where we can reward you all, I hope the rush of seeing your work in front of a crowded room is enough to keep you all coming back and creating. I’d like to also thank the Fresno blogosphere (Fresno Beehive, The Fresnan, Fresno Famous, The View Looks Good From Here Fresno, Dirty Dowdy) for helping us get the word out, the Fresno Twitterverse for spreading the word and KMPH for putting us on the air to promote the event. A giant thank you to everyone who attended and helped add to the spark of the Fresno filmmaking community. Sweded filmmakers are but a small part of the community but an integral one, in my book. And the nurturing that the community has given us is nothing short of awesome and inspiring. Thanks again! Props to John Rios as well for designing that awesome poster up there. If you haven’t seen it yet, Mike Oz over at the Beehive has published The Swedies, the unofficial awards for Swede Fest, so be sure to check those out.

We also want to highlight one entry that we were unable to show on Saturday because it violated our “all ages” rules. Kyle Lowe, who created the “Mean Girls” swede that actually played at the festival, had previously submitted a swede for “(500) Days Of Summer”, which you can check out after the break (NSFW for language). Also after the break, John Rios has put together a blooper reel from his entry “The Breakfast Club” so be sure to check it out, it’s awesome!

One last thing, we’ve put together a quick survey for people to fill out in order to see what the future of Swede Fest should be and to help us figure out how to keep Swede Fest heading in the right direction so please swing by here to fill it out. We appreciate your time & effort.

So Swede Fest is done for now, but make sure you head over to SwedeFest.com to check out all the entries from Saturday and past festivals. And keep those ideas percolating as Swede Fest 7 is coming up in May of 2011, and dude… that’s right around the corner.

BONUS FEATURES:

(500) Days Of Summer swede by Kyle Lowe

500 Days Of Summer Swede from Kyle Lowe on Vimeo.

The Breakfast Club blooper reel by John Rios