interactive events Archives

2019 South by Southwest: What to expect at this year’s SXSW event

March 6, 2019

by Carla Hay

The “Ready Player One” activation at SXSW 2018 (Photo by Alexa Gonzalez Wagner)

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 33rd annual SXSW event takes place from March 8 to March 17, 2019.

Here are some of the anticipated highlights of the festival:

Keynote and Featured Speakers

Olivia Wilde at a special screening of Annapurna’s “If Beale Street Could Talk” in Los Angeles on December 4, 2018. (Photo by Joshua Blanchard/Getty Images for Annapurna Pictures )

Ashley Graham at a special screening of “A Wrinkle In Time” at Walter Reade Theater in New York City on March 7, 2018. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Hearst)

The lineup of SXSW keynote speakers includes:

Actress/filmmaker Olivia Wilde
Grammy- and Oscar-winning singer/songwriter T Bone Burnett
Quibi co-founders Jeffrey Katzenberg and Meg Whitman
Beastie Boys co-founders Adam Horovitz and Michael Diamond
Shirley Manson (lead singer of Garbage) and Lauren Mayberry (lead singer of Chvrches) in a keynote conversation
Kevin Systrom (co-founder/CEO of Instagram) with Josh Constine (editor-in-chief of TechCrunch) in a keynote conversation
BuzzFeed co-founder/CEO Jonah Peretti
Marti Noxon (writer/producer, whose credits include HBO’s “Sharp Objects” and Bravo’s “Girlfriend’s Guide to Divorce”)
William Morris Endeavor chief marketing officer Bozama Saint John and supermodel Ashley Graham in a keynote conversation
Emmy- and Grammy-winning comedian Kathy Griffin
Tech entrepreneur Joseph Lubin

Featured speakers include:

Oscar-winning actress Jodie Foster
Emmy-winning actress Elisabeth Moss in conversation with Grammy-winning singer/songwriter Brandi Carlile
Movie/TV producer Jason Blum
Grammy-winning musician Wyclef Jean
U.S. Congresswoman Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez
TV journalist Katie Couric,
Former Starbucks chairman/CEO Howard Schultz
BIG (Bjarke Ingels Group) founder Bjarke Ingels,
Singer/songwriter David Byrne
#MeToo activist Susan Fowler,
Singer/songwriter Amanda Palmer
Actress/filmmaker Zoe Saldana
Sci-fi writer/producer Neil Gaiman
ABBA co-founder Björn Ulvaeus
Emmy-winning actor Henry Winkler
Georgia politician Stacey Abrams
Singer/producer Lance Bass
Author/journalist Malcolm Gladwell
Upworthy co-founder Eli Pariser
BenevolentAI CEO Joanna Shields
Future Today Institute founder Amy Webb
Author/journalist Michael Pollan

Music Performances

Khalid performs onstage at Sony Event during SXSW at Trinity Warehouse on March 15, 2018 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Hutton Supancic/Getty Images for SXSW)

There are about 2,000 artists who perform at SXSW every year. In 2019, some of the biggest names include Khalid, Billie Eilish, Bully, Dan the Automator, Dreezy, Lizzo, Laura Jane Grace and Lukas Nelson.

Movie and TV Premieres

Winston Duke, Lupita Nyong’o and Evan Alex in “Us” (Photo by (Claudette Barius/Universal Pictures)

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: the horror movie “Us,” from writer/director Jordan Peele and starring Lupita Nyong’o and Winston Duke; the stoner comedy “The Beach Bum,” starring Matthew McConaughey, Zac Efron and Snoop Dogg; the teen comedy “Booksmart,” the feature directorial debut of actress Olivia Wilde; the drama “The Peanut Butter Falcon,” starring Shia LeBeouf and Dakota Johnson; and the comedy “Long Shot,” starring Charlize Theron and Seth Rogen. Documentary films that will have their world premieres at SXSW 2019 include “Running With Beto,” about Texas politician’s Beto O’Rourke’s U.S. Senate campaign in the 2018 mid-term elections; the concert film “Kathy Griffin: A Hell of a Story”; and “I Love You, Now Die: The Commonwealth vs. Michelle Carter,” which reports on the controversial case of a teenager who pressured her boyfriend to commit suicide.

TV shows that will have episodes premiering at SXSW 2019 include Taika Waititi’s “What We Do in the Shadows,” a FX vampire comedy series based on his 2014 film of the same name; the final three episodes of Comedy Central’s “Broad City”; the premiere episode of Hulu’s “Shrill,” starring “Saturday Night Live” cast member Aidy Bryant; and the premiere episode of OWN’s “David Meets Man,” the first TV project from Oscar-winning “Moonlight” screenwriter Tarell Alvin McCraney.

Comedy Performances and Q&As

Kathy Griffin in “Kathy Griffin: A Hell of a Story” (Photo by Tanne Willow)

Participants in the 2019 SXSW Comedy Festival include Kathy Griffin; Trevor Noah and other stars of “The Daily Show”; Doug Benson; Todd Glass; Busy Phillips; Ricky Velez; Upright Citizen’s Brigade co-founder Matt Besser; and “Broad City stars” Abbi Jacobson and Ilana Glazer.

Showcases include “The New Negroes with Baron Vaughn and Open Mike Eagle,” a new stand-up and musical series which premieres on Comedy Central this spring. There will also be the musical comedy showcase Riffs and Riff Raff with Nick Thune & Friends. Paul F. Tompkins will host the variety show “Dynasty Typewriter Presents That’s Enchantertainment!,” and there will be another Roast Battle this year.

2018 South by Southwest: SXSW Event Videos

The 2018 South by Southwest Conference & Festivals took place March 9 to March 18 in Austin, Texas. Here are videos from some of the events.

Keynote Speeches and Q&As

Movie Premiere Q&As

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ynVkkwQT0_Y

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ozlnLDmA0s

2017 South by Southwest: What to expect at this year’s SXSW event

March 8, 2017

by Carla Hay

The exhibit space at SXSW 2016 (Photo by Lisa Hause)

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:

Garth Brooks (Photo courtesy of RCA Nashville)

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

Jake Gyllenhaal in "Life" — Jake Gyllenhaal in “Life” (Photo courtesy of Sony Pictures)

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).

Click here for more on SXSW.