What’s your favorite movie? Do you know the words by heart? Do you recite your favorite monologues while making dinner for the family? Do you think you could remake a scene better than the original? Well, get ready to spend this holiday season remaking Braveheart in the backyard, Titanic in the pool, and Fargo in the family room because The Sweded Festival for Creative Re-Creations is extending the deadline for cinephiles everywhere to submit their favorite blockbuster re-creations!

Pittsburg-based Row House Cinema has extended the deadline through December 31, 2020. This deadline extension allows families to spend their holiday immersed in cinematic fun and frivolity. The strongest entries will be compiled into the feature length “Sweded Festival for Creative Re-Creations”. This amalgamation of homemade cinema will be presented as both a virtual screening offered by independent cinemas and (where and if possible) in select big-screen locations in late January 2021.

            “We’ve already received entries from all over the country, but we also know how distracted everyone has been by current events and an unrelenting news cycle,” said Brian Mendelssohn, owner of Pittsburgh’s Row House Cinema, where The Sweded Film Festival for Creative Re-Creations got its start four years ago as a local event at Row House Cinema; this is the first year it has gone national. “We hope this extra time will spur film fans to pick up their phones and remake their favorite movies – fast, cheap, and out of control!”

            An entry form (which requires a $10 fee) and full on rules and guidelines for upload, which must be no longer than five minutes, can be found here. As an added bonus, the entry fee also includes a free virtual-cinema viewing of The Sweded Festival for Creative Re-Creations.All submissions will be reviewed by a panel of judges who will select entrants to be part of the feature-length festival. Additionally, judges will award cash prizes for the best “Sweded” films in multiple categories.

            A select number of independent cinemas have already booked time for the virtual festival to play in movie theaters (opening dates will depend on local regulations and conditions). For virtual audiences, half of the revenue from each virtual ticket will go directly to participating independent theaters. In this uncertain time, the cinema community is banding together to support theaters that continue to struggle amid unprecedented revenue loss. This is a unique opportunity to support, participate, and witness something truly special.

A full list of participating locations presenting The Sweded Film Festival for Creative Re-creations either virtually or in-cinema will be available in January on the festival’s website.