The ?? ??? ??South by Southwest Film Festival is back on — just not exactly in the way it was originally planned.
SXSW announced Thursday that it has partnered with Amazon Prime Video to launch an online version of the 2020 festival, which had been canceled in March due to the coronavirus.
Said Janet Pierson, SXSW's Director of Film, in a press release:
Ever since SXSW was cancelled by the City of Austin, we’ve been focused on how we could help the incredible films and filmmakers in the SXSW 2020 Film Festival lineup. We were delighted when Amazon Prime Video offered to host an online film festival, and jumped at the opportunity to connect their audiences to our filmmakers. We’re inspired by the adaptability and resilience of the film community as it searches for creative solutions in this unprecedented crisis.
"Prime Video presents the SXSW Film Festival Collection" will stream exclusively on Prime Video for all audiences in the U.S. — no Amazon Prime membership needed. (Though users will still have to have a free Amazon account.)
The films will be available for 10 days, beginning on an as-yet-undetermined launch date expected to be in late April.
Filmmakers whose work had been slated for the 2020 film festival will be invited to participate, and can opt in starting today. Those who choose to do so will receive a screening fee.
The news comes amid the coronavirus-related cancelations and delays of not just SXSW but other major film festivals including Cannes, Tribeca, and HotDocs.
Topics Amazon SXSW COVID-19