PALM BEACH FILM SOCIETY

Showcase of hilarious short films spoofing Hollywood hits will kick off annual L-Dub Film Festival in Lake Worth Beach

Lake Worth Beach, FL (September 14, 2023) The Palm Beach Film Society today announced the lineup of hilariously bad, 4-minute remakes of Hollywood hits during the return of the popular, amateur film festival swede festTM palm beach. The no-budget film festival will kick off this year’s annual L-Dub Film Festival in Lake Worth Beach on September 22, 2023.

This year’s list of “bad films by good people” includes: “Monty Python’s Dead Parrot Sketch” by Kevin Baker, “Stepbrothers” by Joe Ponton, “The Little Mermaid” by Amy Terwilliger, “Stand By Me,” by Danielle Provencher, “Lethal Ghostbuster Weapon (Part 1 and 2),” by Jason Galotti, “Titanic,” by Joshua Rager, “Amityville Horror” by Jay Puschel, “Barbie Movie: The Prequel,” by Jacek Gancarz and “The Thing (That Wasn’t There)” from Sean Broderick.

What’s a swede? Indie film festivals have a rich history of showcasing amazing undiscovered talent, where Hollywood insiders troll for the next big thing, where A-list stars promote the small, labor-of-love projects they do between blockbusters. This is not the case with the annual swede fest™ palm beach. Instead, a “swede” is a no-budget, laughably bad remake of a hit Hollywood film. The term comes from the 2008 comedy, “Be Kind Rewind,” which started an underground sweding craze and resulted in the very first swede fest™ in Fresno, CA. swede festÔ palm beach continued the tradition and now enters its 9^th year of “bad films by good people.” The event includes juried awards for categories such as “best use of paper towels in a swede” as well as the Audience Choice Award selected and presented that evening.

swede fest™ palm beach kicks off the 11^th Annual L-Dub Film Festival, which features professional shorts and feature films. Screenings for the L-Dub run Saturday and Sunday at the Lake Worth Playhouse’s Stonzek Theater. For tickets and film line-up, visit lakeworthplayhouse.org.

The 9^th Annual swede festTM palm beach takes place Friday, September 22 at 7:00 p.m. The “you call this a red carpet?!” entrance begins at 6:00 p.m. at the Lake Worth Playhouse, located at 703 Lake Avenue, Lake Worth. Tickets are $9 per person and afterparty with cash bar is included with admission. Visit https://lakeworth-playhouse.ticketleap.com/swede-fest-of-palm-beach/ for tickets.

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Examples of past “swedes” can be found at vimeo.com/swedefestpalmbeach.

SOCIAL MEDIA:
Web:         swedefestpalmbeach.com  
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/swedefestpalmbeach

For general information & sponsorship opportunities
CALL Elizabeth Dashiell, 561.543.8276
EMAIL info@swedefestpalmbeach.com

IMAGE ID’S:

Clockwise from front left: “Stand by Me: Hurricane Edition” cast members Danielle Provencher (Boynton Beach), Rebecca Matte (Delray Beach), Matt Ransom (Delray Beach), Jonathan Tack (Delray Beach), Heidi Rabinowitz (Delray Beach) and Helen Silver (Delray Beach) enjoy hurricane snacks during filming of this year’s Swedefest entry. The event takes place Friday, Sept. 22, at the Lake Worth Playhouse.

Helen Silver of Delray Beach is upset to find a cockroach has fallen onto her neck in the Swedefest film “Stand by Me: Hurricane Edition.” Instead of leaches, which were used in the real movie, director Danielle Provencher chose a Florida nuisance: the roach. (These roaches were plastic.)

Jason Galotti’s remake of “Lethal Ghostbusters Weapon” Parts 1 and 2 will be screened during this year’s swede festTM palm beach 9.

Joe Ponton stars in Amy Terwilliger’s swede of “The Little Mermaid.”

Jacek Gangarz’ “Barbie Movie: The Prequel”

Joshua Rager directed his family for their 3-minute remake of “Titanic.”

swede fest™ palm beach 8 Announcing A Call For Entries Through October 1

Palm Beach Film Society Hosting Hilarious Amateur Film Festival at Kelsey Black Box Theater in Lake Park

BUT WHAT’S A SWEDE?
Indie film festivals have a rich history of showcasing amazing undiscovered talent, where Hollywood insiders troll for the next big thing, where A-list stars promote the small, labor-of-love projects they do between blockbusters. This is not the case with the annual swede fest™ palm beach. Instead, a “swede” is a no-budget, laughably bad remake of a hit Hollywood film. The term comes from the 2008 comedy, “Be Kind Rewind,” which started an underground sweding craze and resulted in the very first swede fest™ in Fresno. Next came swede fest™ tampa bay, and swede fest™ palm beach ushers in its 8^th (ish) year on October 23, 2022. “Red Carpet” entry starts at 6 pm with screenings from 7 pm to 9 pm at the Kelsey Theater in Lake Park.

WHO SHOULD ENTER?
Anyone with any type of camera. Submissions are free to enter (click here to learn more). Films must be under three minutes and PG-13, even if the “source material” is not. This means finding creative ways to get around any violence, objectionable language, and nudity.

ENTRIES:
Open call begins now; the deadline is October 14 at 11:59 pm. All films must be submitted through Dropbox or similar digital transfer platforms. All of the rules and submission guidelines are on the pbfilmsociety.org website, along with example swedes from the other swede fests for…inspiration.

COST:
Free to enter a film; tickets to the event are $12 per person. Tickets may be purchased at www.lakeparkblackbox.com.

INFO:
For those interested in sweding a film, email info@swedepalmbeach.com and call dibs on the film. swede fest™ is not a competition, so we try to avoid comparisons that come from multiple swedes of the same film. We recommend swede-makers embrace the amateur nature of sweding and opt to use found objects rather than spending any real money making these movies. The actual genius comes from how one’s personality and/or sense of humor shines through. Examples can be found at https://vimeo.com/swedefestpalmbeach for…inspiration.

WHEN:
Saturday, October 23 at 7:00 PM

WHERE:
The Kelsey Theater
700 Park Avenue, Lake Park

WHO:
The evening will be emceed once again by the hilarious improv troupe, Cheese & Crackers. The Palm Beach Film Society, a non-profit dedicated to promoting local film makers and film making in Palm Beach County is the presenting organization in partnership with the Lake Park Black Box Kelsey Theater.