March 8, 2017
by Carla Hay
The South by Southwest (SXSW) Conference & Festivals (held every year in Austin, Texas) is arguably the best-known event in the U.S. that combines music, film, interactive and convergence programming. The 31st annual SXSW event takes place from March 10 to March 19, 2017.
New for 2017, the Interactive, Film, and Music badges will now include expanded access to more of the SXSW Conference & Festivals experience. Attendees will still receive primary entry to programming associated with their badge type but now also enjoy secondary access to most other SXSW events.
Here are some of the anticipated highlights of the festival:
Keynote speakers
The lineup of SXSW keynote speakers includes:
- Joe Biden, former Vice President of the United States
- Garth Brooks, Grammy-winning singer/songwriter
- Lee Daniels, Oscar-nominated filmmaker/TV producer (“Precious,” “Empire”)
- James Baker, FBI general counsel (He replaces FBI director James Comey, who cancelled his appearance at the event.)
- Jennifer Doudna, Ph. D., University of California at Berkeley professor of molecular and cell biology and chemistry
- Gareth Edwards, director (“Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” “Godzilla”)
- Adam Grant, Wharton School of Business teacher/author
- Yasmin Green, Jigsaw director of research and development
- Zane Lowe, Beats 1 creative director/Los Angeles anchor
- Cory Richards, professional climber/visual storyteller
- Nile Rodgers, Grammy-winning producer/songwriter
- Jessica Shortall, Texas Competes managing director
- Jill Soloway, award-winning TV producer (“Transparent”)
Meanwhile, featured speakers include actor/filmmaker Seth Rogen, New Jersey U.S. senator Cory Booker, actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus, NASA astronaut Buzz Aldrin, fasion designer Marc Jacobs, Fleetwood Mac drummer Mick Fleetwood, Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards, WWE star/actor John Cena, rocker Sammy Hagar and “Game of Thrones” executive producers D.B. Weiss and David Benioff.
Music Performances
There are about 2,000 artists who perform at SXSW every year. In 2017, some of the biggest names include the Chainsmokers, Ryan Adams, the Avett Brothers, the New Pornographers, Sylvan Esso and Bilal.
Movie Premieres
SXSW has a wide variety of feature-length and short films. Here are some of the more high-profile feature films that will have their world premieres at the festival: “Atomic Blonde” (action thriller starring Charlize Theron); “Life” (sci-fi thriller starring Jake Gyllenhaal); “The Disaster Artist” (directed by and starring James Franco); “Song to Song” (directed by Terrence Malick and starring Ryan Gosling, Michael Fassbender and Rooney Mara); and “May It Last: A Portrait of the Avett Brothers” (music documentary directed by Judd Apatow).