Lights, (smartphone) camera, action!  

2 min read Events and Festivals

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 6th June and calls for aspiring filmmakers to submit remakes of classic film scenes.   

Fancy cameras, elaborate sets and expensive costumes can be left behind as moviemakers film on their smartphones and use 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.  

Each day of the festival, budding filmmakers will be given just 24 hours to ‘swede’ a one-minute clip before uploading it to TikTok using #XpoCreates.    

Sweded film experts and founders of Swede Fest,  Roque Rodriguez and Bryan Harley will be running a ‘How to Swede’ masterclass on Saturday 22nd May. The masterclass is free to attend and pre-registration is available at https://xponorth.co.uk/events/xpocreates-how-to-swede  

Big brands will be launching a film challenge each throughout the week and offering exclusive prizes. Participating brands include: 

  • Mrs Tilly’s– Scotlands favourite tablet makers 
  • Graham’s the Family Dairy– Scotland’s no 1 most chosen brand  
  • Millions– Scotland’s largest confectionery manufacturer  
  • Cairngorms National Park 
  • Pleasance Edinburgh– one of Edinburgh Fringe’s largest venues 
  • Screen Facilities Scotland– trade body 
  • Blazing Griffin– BAFTA-winning Glasgow-based digital entertainment company 
  • Hood Magazine– Scotland’s only free, national glossy magazine 

Talking about the launch of XpoCreates, 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, it’s about having fun and the opportunity for everyone to share and collaborate to inspire our future generation of moviemakers.” 

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