Fresno’s low-budget film festival puts friends and neighbors into blockbuster movies

Swede Fest started as an art-project homage to Michel Gondry’s 2008 film “Be Kind Rewind,” which was itself a kind of art-project homage to blockbuster Hollywood films.

The simple idea behind Swede Fest was to get Fresnans making their own movies — in this case low- (or more likely no-) budget parody remakes of popular TV shows and films, but without paid actors or actual props or special effects.

Over its 11 years — the 19th installment happens Friday at the Tower Theatre — Swede Fest gained some national recognition and spawned several sister festivals.

At times though, the festival itself got overshadowed by its founders, Bryan Harley and Roque Rodriguez, whose “sweded” versions of popular movie trailers (specifically from the the Star Wars franchise) earned them viral video status (and a spot on “Good Morning America” back in 2015).

For this installment of the festival, the pair and its creative team made a shot-for-shot remake of the trailer for “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” — mostly out of cardboard. You can see a side-by-side comparison on their Youtube page. It will be one of 20 four-minute films shown during the festival.

Swede Fest is an all-ages (read family friendly) event that is free and open to the public.

Details: 7 p.m. Friday. Tower Theatre, 815 E. Olive Ave. Free, all ages. 559-485-9050, www.towertheatrefresno.com

Other noteworthy events

▪ Nate Butler’s Mmm-Mmm Christmas. 8 p.m. Friday. Fulton 55, 875 E. Divisadero Ave. $2-$3. 559-412-7400, www.fulton 55.com

▪ Christmas Tree Festival. 11 a.m. Friday to Sunday. Fresno Fairgrounds, 1121 S. Chance Ave. $5. 559-878-2744, @HmongCulturalNewYearCelebration

▪ Kidz Bop. 6 p.m. Monday. Warnors Theatre, 1400 Fulton Ave. $25-$55. 559-264-2848, www.warnors.org

▪ KISS-mas concert. 7 p.m. Sunday. Hanford Fox Theatre. $10-$25. 559-584-7823, www.foxhanford.com

▪ Static-X. 7 p.m. Dec. 18. Fulton 55, 875 E. Divisadero Ave. $25. 559-412-7400, www.fulton 55.com

▪ Ozomatli. 8 p.m. Dec. 18. Tower Theatre, 815 E. Olive Ave. $31.50-$46. 559-485-9050, www.towertheatrefresno.com