Vibe Shift: How New Media Upended Our Ideas and Aesthetics

Adam Aleksic

Linguist, Author, Influencer

Adam Aleksic is a linguist, influencer, and NYT bestselling author of the book "Algospeak: How Social Media is Transforming the Future of Language." He is also known for posting videos as the "Etymology Nerd" to a following of over three million.

Waller Ballroom A

Texas High School Shorts Screening & Q&A

From Who to What to You: The Weird AI-Infused Future of the Creator Economy

From Viral to Viable: Building IP as a Creator

What are the vibes? This presentation will unpack the idea of a "vibe" - an aesthetic appraisal of a situation - and how these vibes can "shift." These shifts are dictated by cultural and political undercurrents, by current events, but most importantly by developments in technology. In a rapidly changing landscape with more sophisticated generative AI and social media algorithms, the vibes are shifting almost too fast to keep up. New meme genres, political movements, and ideological upheavals are occurring - and this talk will explain how and why.

VIBE SHIFT: HOW NEW MEDIA UPENDED OUR IDEAS AND AESTHETICS


Saving Monarchs With Machine Learning and Computer Vision

Greg Emerick

Founder

Greg Emerick is the founder of POLLi, a platform that utilizes machine learning and drone imagery to monitor habitats, manage vegetation, and support biodiversity—including efforts to protect monarch butterflies along their migration corridor.

Room 201-202

Rewriting the Rules of Business: A Guide to Purpose & Profit

The Geography of Prosperity: A New Map for Resilient Cities

Where Climate Science Meets Industry Innovation

How the Ocean Twilight Zone Regulates Our Climate

Monarch butterflies are experiencing severe declines, but AI-powered computer vision offers new hope for their conservation. This session explores how machine learning aids in identifying milkweed and invasive species, supporting precise conservation efforts across millions of acres. Learn how innovative image analysis is transforming vegetation management and habitat monitoring by combining technology and ecology to protect iconic pollinators, and why this approach is vital for maintaining biodiversity resilience.

SAVING MONARCHS WITH MACHINE LEARNING AND COMPUTER VISION


Who Owns What: The State of Startups & Top Trends to Watch

Ashley Neville

Director of Insights

Ashley Neville is the Director of Insights at Carta, where she turns proprietary data into compelling insights that guide founders, investors, and operators across the private markets. She leads a team responsible for 20+ annual reports and creates award-winning visualizations that challenge conventional wisdom. She also writes Data Minute, Carta’s newsletter with 25K+ subscribers and a 60%+ open rate. Prior to Carta, Ashley spent over a decade at Tableau, where she led global data literacy initiatives and helped launch the award-winning Visualize No Malaria campaign. A recognized expert in data storytelling, Ashley studied International Economics at Georgetown and is based in Seattle. When not decoding data, she’s hiking the Pacific Crest Trail with her Pomsky, Aspen.

Salon E

The Creative Economy is Thriving: Why Founders Keep Building for Creators

The Lucky 10%: CPGs Flipping Off the Startup Failure Rate

The Art of Scaling Your Startup Without Venture Capital

Now is Japan's Time: Leading the Future with Deep Tech

Build the Future: Entrepreneurship Within Reach

Each year billions of dollars are invested in finding and building the next generation of great companies. So how do you increase your chances of being found and funded? Carta has conducted an analysis of data from tens of thousands of startups in its network since 2018, offering a bird’s eye view of the top trends in startup funding and job distribution. Discover whether employees are still getting meaningful equity, if founder ownership has improved or worsened over the last 5 years, and what you need to know to navigate these challenges as you build and pitch your company.

WHO OWNS WHAT: THE STATE OF STARTUPS & TOP TRENDS TO WATCH


Rock’s Biggest Promoter on the Future of Festivals

Henryk Bik

Communications, Content & Programming Manager

In this role, he develops thought leadership content in tandem with Music Biz member companies with the goal of democratizing information & insights for all players in the music business, and manages overall content scheduling & messaging across Music Biz's email, website and social media channels. He also assists in programming the educational panel lineup at the Annual Music Biz Conference, and serves as producer for Music Biz's The Future of What podcast. Prior to joining Music Biz in 2018, Bik honed his copywriting & communications skills as a junior account manager for a marketing & PR firm working with clients in the industrial chemicals space.

Darshan Kaler

Founder and CEO

Darshan Kaler is the Founder and CEO of Tradable Bits, a leading fan engagement platform using data technology to power personalized experiences in sports, music, and live events. Tradable Bits is at the forefront of turning fan insights into meaningful, revenue-driving connections.

Chris Donohue

Chris Donohue is General Manager of Front Gate Tickets and SVP, Festivals at Ticketmaster. He oversees all facets of Front Gate’s business, platform, and operations while supporting Ticketmaster’s global festival initiatives and clientele.

Chamie McCurry, McCurry

Chief Marketing Officer and General Manager

With a remarkable 25-year career in live events, Chamie McCurry is a revered figure in the concert industry. As the CMO at Danny Wimmer Presents since 2019, McCurry helped guide the company to record setting attendance and revenue year-over-year, while developing historic and new festivals creative and marketing strategies, social media blueprints, ticketing implementation, and customer success initiatives.  Having navigated various realms within the field, her expertise in live events is unparalleled.

Capitol Ballroom E

Global Stage @ Downright Austin Backyard

Tour Support 2.0: How Mental Health is Reshaping Live Music

From Streams to Strategy: The Label Services Evolution

Music Nostalgia: The Secret Weapon in Modern Advertising

The Playbook: Viral Hits to Loyal Fandoms

Rock fans are famously loyal. These fans don’t just attend festivals for a headliner, they come for the entire lineup. They know the small-font bands, have playlists ready, and pride themselves on discovering new acts. Danny Wimmer Presents and friends take you backstage to reveal how they sell out rock’s most popular festivals, including Louder Than Life, Welcome to Rockville, Aftershock, and more. It takes a helluva lot more than a killer lineup. It takes innovations uniquely suited to the genre that simplifies, personalizes, and rewards fans. Discover the tech shaping the future of rock.

ROCK?S BIGGEST PROMOTER ON THE FUTURE OF FESTIVALS


Art as Identity in a Jobless Future

Marco Palou (a.k.a. Baby Yors)

Multidisciplinary Artist, Author of Homo Artis

Marco Palou (A.K.A. Baby Yors for his music) is a multidisciplinary artist and entrepreneur whose work spans music, film, fashion, and emerging technologies.

As a musician, he writes, composes, and performs all of his songs, gracing stages around the world with a singular sound and presence.

As a filmmaker, he has directed award-winning projects. He directs all of his music videos and has helmed visual campaigns for a range of artists and global brands.

As a designer and creative director, Marco has developed bespoke fashion pieces for himself and his collaborators, and has led design and branding projects for companies of all sizes, crafting everything from brand identities to social media content and strategic consulting. In 2018, he served as creative content lead for Lincoln Center in New York.

Known for his distinct, boundary-pushing style, Baby Yors has been the face of campaigns for global brands including Absolut Vodka, Jägermeister, Histoires de Parfums, and Etat Libre d’Orange Paris. He also serves as an ambassador for the United Nations.

His work has been featured in major media outlets including Rolling Stone, Vice, Forbes, Billboard, V Magazine, People, Wonderland, and The Advocate. He was named one of the 100 most influential LGBTQ+ people in the world by OutMagazine.

Currently, he is pioneering new ventures at the intersection of art and technology. Through his company Eleven Three, he is helping revolutionize music, audiovisual art, and gaming.

Jonathan Brill

Founder and Executive Chairman

Jonathan Brill is Forbes' #1 ranked futurist and "the world's leading transformation architect" according to Harvard Business Review. As former Global Futurist at HP, AI inventor, and bestselling author of "Rogue Waves," he helps Fortune 50 companies and government agencies navigate radical change. His firms have created 350+ products generating $27B+ for clients like Samsung, Microsoft, and Verizon. He's spoken to 27,000+ executives across 29 countries and serves as Senior Fellow at HBR's China New Growth Institute.

Daniel Lismore

Fabric Sculptor, Living Sculpture Artist

Daniel Lismore is a London-based artist dubbed by Vogue as "England's Most Eccentric Dresser." Living his life as art, he creates elaborate ensembles combining haute couture with found objects, chainmail, and ethnic jewelry. His touring exhibition "Be Yourself, Everyone Else is Already Taken" has attracted 150,000+ visitors worldwide. A TED2019 speaker and Tate public ambassador, he's an LGBTQ+ advocate and climate ambassador for Cool Earth. His work challenges boundaries between personal expression and cultural commentary, embodying art as a way of being.

Salon D

Who’s Funding the Future—and Who’s Getting Left Out

Thrive or Survive: Why Creativity is the Key to an AI-Future

The Story of Stories—The Million Year History of Storytelling

Skills You’ll Need To Succeed in the Post-AI Age

Through the Noise: The State of Science Storytelling

As AI handles logic and efficiency, what survival skills do humans have left? TED Speaker Daniel Lismore, Forbes' #1 Futurist Jonathan Brill, and multimedia artist Marco Palou explore how art transitions from elite profession to essential practice: a way of staying human in an automated world.
Attendees will learn:

How to reclaim creativity as a survival skill in the post-work era
Why artistic identity can replace work-based self-definition
Practical frameworks for cultivating presence and meaning-making

When the dust settles, the artists survive.


Will Podcasts Survive the YouTube Era?

Libby Absten

Director of Strategic Growth & Partnerships

Libby Absten has worked alongside pre-seed consumer startups across various creator economies, utilizing a variety of expertise spanning marketing, business, and product development to create a uniquely catered SOW for creative and innovative entrepreneurs at the most crucial points of their careers. Her nearly 10 years of working cross-functionally in a fractional role alongside leaders and their teams have fueled her passion to pursue avenues of strategic growth with a hope to use my experience and network to further propel companies into the opportunities of their future.

Chris Boniello

VP, Production Services

Carly Baker

Head of Media Partnerships

Carly Baker is an audience development strategist and media partnerships leader, serving as Head of Media Partnerships at HubSpot where she builds and leads the Media Partnerships function for the HubSpot Media Network. Focused on diversifying how media companies reach and convert new audiences, Carly brokers strategic partnerships with audience-adjacent publishers, tech companies, and creators to drive mutual growth across HubSpot's portfolio—including The Hustle, The Science of Scaling, Mindstream, Marketing Against the Grain, and shows like My First Million.

Waller Ballroom F

From Podcasts to Radio: Unlocking Scaled Audio with Modern Attribution

Chasing the Truth: How Stories We Tell Spark Cultural Change

Cassettes & Cults: Making The Red Weather Podcast

Power Shift: How Podcasters are Monetizing on Their Terms

As YouTube becomes the fastest-growing podcast platform and creators scramble to add video to their podcasts, a critical question emerges: Is pure audio dead? In this head-to-head debate, industry leaders will argue whether podcasting must evolve into a visual medium to survive, or if audio's unique intimacy and convenience will always have a place in our media landscape. We'll explore how creators and networks are navigating this visual-first world—from adding cameras to intimate conversations to leveraging video clips for social discovery while preserving audio's storytelling magic.

Creator Economy track sponsored by Yamaha


The Abortion Highway: Abortion Funds & Texas Abortion Toll

Zaena Zamora

Executive Director

Zaena is an experienced executive director with a history in non-profit management. A strong business development professional, she earned a Master of Science (MS) from The University of Texas-Pan American. Zaena believes in reproductive freedom for all and Frontera Fund's mission of making abortion accessible to all those who want it. Frontera Fund is dedicated to advancing reproductive justice values and access to reproductive health in the Rio Grande Valley and border communities by providing comprehensive direct services, including abortion funding and practical support, alongside community advocacy efforts. Zaena is empowered by the work of countless individuals and organizations to collectively work for reproductive justice in the beautiful borderland she calls home.

Lucie Arvallo

Executive Director

Lucie Arvallo currently serves as the Executive Director of Jane’s Due Process. She is the proud granddaughter of Mexican immigrants and was born and raised in Austin, Texas. She received her bachelor’s degree from St. Edward’s University and graduated cum laude with a Juris Doctor from St. Mary’s University School of Law. Lucie was placed as an If/When/How Reproductive Justice Legal Fellow after graduating and most recently worked at the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice, leading the immigrant access to health care and coverage portfolio. Lucie is also an abortion storyteller and board member for ARC-Southeast, an organization that provides funding and logistical support to ensure Southerners receive safe and compassionate reproductive care including abortion services.

Kamyon Conner

Executive Director

Kamyon Conner is a queer Black activist, writer and social worker with her roots firmly planted in grassroots organizing and medical case management. She serves as the Executive Director of Texas Equal Access Fund, an abortion fund serving West, East and North Texas. She served as the Vice President of the National Network of Abortion Fund's Board of Directors until 2021. She serves as the Vice President of PRIDENTON, a Denton based grassroots organization that celebrates LGBTQ+ folks and hosts Pride annually with a focus on QTBIPOC leadership. She received her master’s degree in social work from the University of Texas in Arlington and her undergraduate degree in social work from the University of North Texas.

Anna Rupani

Executive Director

Anna Rupani (she/her) is a movement lawyer, social worker, proud Muslim, and unapologetic advocate for reproductive justice and immigrant rights. As Executive Director of Fund Texas Choice, she has helped transform the work at FTC, ensuring thousands of Texans can access abortion with dignity and care. Anna has long championed community-based support through multiple board roles with grassroots organizations. With a background in both law and social work, she brings a trauma-informed, people-centered lens to her leadership. She is licensed to practice law in Texas and Massachusetts and has been honored with the Rising Raggio Award, DAYL Outstanding Co-Chair Award, and Judge Reginald C. Lindsay Public Service Law Book Award.

Salon E

Turning Up the Heat: Climate Content That Clicks

Growing Intelligence: Youth, AI, and the Future of Ag

Mall Rats Reborn: How Hot Topic is Using Entertainment to Revitalise Retail

Culture Under Fire: Storytelling for Public Power

How to Win Friends and Overthrow Systems

We dream of reproductive liberation for all communities, within Texas and beyond. Hear from Abortion Funds who advocate daily for abortion seekers and provide folks with compassionate support to make healthcare decisions that are best for them, regardless of age, income level, zip code, documentation status, or gender identity. Join us to learn how to fight back against anti-abortion policymakers and stigma strategically so we can co-create a future where all people have the power and resources to care for and affirm their bodies, identities and health for themselves and their families.

ABORTION HIGHWAY: ABORTION FUNDS & TEXAS ABORTION TOLL


Is Brand Dead? The Brand Leader’s Playbook for the AI Era

Dawn Holliday

Director, Consumer Insights

Neil Golson

VP, Brand & Creative

Neil F. Golson is VP of Brand & Creative at Realtor.com, where he leads consumer and B2B marketing, brand strategy, and high-profile campaigns shaping how Americans think about homeownership. A builder at heart, Neil has scaled brands and revenue across tech, real estate, energy, and retail—working with companies like Tesla, Home Depot, and Coca-Cola. He focuses on turning insight into systems that compound: connecting brand, product, data, and culture into durable advantage.

Isobell Roberts

Chief AI Officer

Isobell Roberts is Chief AI Officer at BrandComms.AI and a true AI native, fusing creative instincts with deep technical fluency. Starting her career in advertising agencies, Isobell has led strategy and creative transformation for global brands across CPG, QSR, and tech. At BrandComms.AI, she now builds agentic AI systems that transform brand insights into high-performing creative—on strategy, on brand, and in-market in days. Her work is redefining the creative process for modern marketers. Recognized by Ad Age as a Tech Power List honoree and 40 Under 40 leader, Isobell is shaping the new era of brand building.

Adam Cook

Creative Lead

Rich agency experience having held Creative Director roles at DDB, Leo Burnett, Young & Rubican and others.

Topaz Ballroom 1-3

AI Safety & Trust: Building Responsible Media Tech

AI in Entertainment: Navigating IP, Ethics & Opportunity

Capturing Chaos: A Q&A with the DP & CLT of The Pitt

The De-brief: Rethinking the Brand–Creator Relationship

Future of Loyalty: Gen Z and Gen Alpha will shape a new era

In a world flooded with content, does “brand” still matter?

This provocative panel explores how Gen AI is reshaping brand leadership and the creative process—from production to positioning. Join a diverse panel of Brand Leaders, Ad Execs & AI Natives as they tackle how brand teams must evolve to stay relevant, effective, & resonant. We’ll cover how leading marketers are embedding AI into creative pipelines, shifting talent models, and fighting the rise of "bad creative, faster."

For brand leaders serious about staying ahead of AI-powered brand transformation—this is your roadmap.

IS BRAND DEAD? THE BRAND LEADER?S PLAYBOOK FOR THE AI ERA


AI and Inclusive Storytelling: Tech's Effect on Representation

Zaki Barzinji

Director, Building Bridges Program

Prior to joining the Doris Duke Foundation, Zaki Barzinji served as Senior Director for Empowered Communities at the Aspen Institute, where he oversaw a range of projects at the intersection of tech, policy, equity and justice for systemically marginalized communities. In the Obama Administration, he served as Senior Associate Director of Public Engagement and President Obama’s liaison to Muslims, Arabs, Sikhs and other minority faiths, working to ensure that perspectives rarely represented in national decision making were included at the highest levels. His career also includes serving as Senior Policy Advisor to Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe, leading state and local government affairs for Hewlett Packard Enterprise, and consulting for community-based organizations such as the Muslim Public Affairs Council, a long-time partner and collaborator of the Doris Duke Foundation, and the Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services. Beyond his public service, Barzinji is a writer and storyteller whose creative work has been recognized by the Disney/ABC “First 10” TV Comedy Lab and the NYC Midnight Screenwriting Challenge. His writing and commentary appear in Politico, The Atlantic, BuzzFeed, The Washington Post, CNN, and other national outlets.

Noha Moustafa

Counsel, Data Disclosure & Strategy

Noha Moustafa is a security counsel on Google’s Data Disclosure and Strategy Team, where she advises on cybercrime and data security issues, including responding to requests from law enforcement for user data. She is based out of Washington D.C. and advises on domestic civil matters, domestic criminal matters, and international governmental requests for user data.

Kirstine Stewart

Media and Tech Executive

Kirstine Stewart is a media executive, advisor, and author who helps leaders navigate the future of content and culture in an AI-driven world—focused on turning disruption into durable advantage.

Haris Tarin

VP, Policy Advocacy

Haris Tarin is the Vice President of Policy and Programming at the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC). Prior to joining MPAC he served as Senior Policy Advisor to the Secretary of Homeland Security. Before that role, he served as the Senior Director at the Department of Homeland Security's Office of Partnership and Engagement (OPE), where he worked with civil society groups, local and state law enforcement agencies, tech sector executives, industry leaders, and academia to develop public/private partnerships for some of our nation’s most pressing challenges. Haris also served as Chief of Staff of Operation Allies Welcome (OAW), which President Biden established after the withdrawal from Afghanistan and the fall of Kabul in August 2021. Haris led the civilian interagency and multinational response to evacuating and resettling thousands of people, the largest resettlement program in America’s history. Before joining the government, Haris was a leader in policy advocacy, having produced over 30 policy papers focusing on issues including national security, civil rights/civil liberties, religious freedom, immigration, and civic engagement. Haris was a regular on news television programs, including CNN, BBC, Fox News, and MSNBC. Haris has also written for national and international publications like The Washington Post, LA Times, Christian Science Monitor, and Al Jazeera.  He was among three leading young Americans selected by President Obama in a one-of-a-kind series of discussions on public policy issues; the President met on several occasions with Haris specifically to discuss policies pertaining to the intersection of national security and civil rights. Haris is Ariane de Rothschild Cambridge Fellow, USC/Georgetown AMCLI Fellow, and a University of Virginia Sorenson Political Fellow. He is the co-author of "Rethinking the Red Line: Free Speech, Religious Freedom and Social Change".

Onyx Ballroom 1-4

The Present and Future of Live Experiences

Shifting From Beauty to Belonging—the Next Cultural Movement

Harnessing AI Without Losing Our Minds: A Playbook

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is transforming the way stories are told. From shaping narratives to influencing how communities consume and share information, AI is rapidly rewriting the rules of culture, media, and connection. This panel will discuss the intersection of technology and storytelling, and the risks of leaving the American Muslim and other underrepresented communities behind, and what’s at stake if access to these tools are not available to those who need them the most.

AI AND INCLUSIVE STORYTELLING: TECH'S EFFECT ON REPRESENTATION


Spike Fuck

Spike F*ck is a rare figure in contemporary music: direct, disarming, and impossible to pin down. Emerging from Melbourne’s underground in the late 2010s with The Smackwave EP, Spike fused bleak synth-pop, post-punk melodrama, and brutally honest songwriting into something both vulnerable and confrontational. Armed with only a backing track and a microphone, early live shows saw Spike sing candidly about addiction, gender, dysfunctional love, and collapse: a kind of wounded sincerity that quickly drew a cult following. Just as things seemed to be breaking open, Spike disappeared, retreating from public life amid a personal reckoning.

After a four-year hiatus -- during which time rumours swirled about death, institutions, or becoming a monk -- Spike returned sober, clear-eyed, and transformed. The music that followed is bigger, wilder, and more alive. Performed with a rotating full band, the new material draws from ‘70s glam, spiritual soul, and damaged rock and roll, but always filtered through Spike’s unmistakable voice: bruised, intense, poetic.

These are songs about recovery, identity, survival, and letting go not sanitised, not triumphant, but real. Where the early work stared into the void, the new work steps forward with purpose. It’s not a reinvention. It’s an evolution, one born from chaos, now grounded in clarity.

Radio Day Stage @ Downright Austin Backyard


NMC² HPC Happy Hour

Engineers working in HPC, cloud, and data centres, this one’s for you!

Join NorthMark Compute & Cloud (NMC²) for an informal happy hour. Connect with peers from across the industry, enjoy great food and drinks on us, and take home some swag, all in a relaxed, no-sales setting.

• Network with engineers and peers

• Free food and drinks, plus some swag

• A chance to get to know NMC² in a low-key environment

NMC² partners across industries to deliver high-performance compute infrastructure that removes friction from scientific research, simulation, and data-driven decision-making.


Matt Bettinelli-Olpin

Radio Silence is a directing/producing duo (Matt Bettinelli-Olpin & Tyler Gillett) known for movies that blend horror, action & comedy. Most recently, they directed Abigail and previously, they revived the Scream franchise with Scream (2022) & Scream VI (2023). Other feature films include Ready or Not, Southbound, Devil’s Due & the cult hit V/H/S.

Moments after surviving an all-out attack from the Le Domas family, Grace discovers she’s reached the next level of the nightmarish game — and this time with her estranged sister Faith at her side. Grace has one chance to survive, keep her sister alive, and claim the High Seat of the Council that controls the world. Four rival families are hunting her for the throne, and whoever wins rules it all.

Ready or Not 2: Here I Come

After surviving the Le Domas attack, Grace faces the next level of the deadly game -- now with her estranged sister Faith. With four rival families hunting them, Grace must survive, protect her sister, and claim the High Seat that rules it all.

Tripp Vinson
James Vanderbilt
William Sherak
Bradley J. Fischer

Samara Weaving, Kathryn Newton, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Shawn Hatosy, Néstor Carbonell, David Cronenberg, Elijah Wood

Casting: John Buchan, CSA and Jason Knight, CSA


The Screen Between Us: Tech and Human Connection

Speakeasy

German DeepTech and AI Innovation Unleashed: Day 1 at German Haus

Future in Focus: Meet Germany’s Top AI Startups

Innovation for Everyone: Day 2 at German Haus

MediaTech Morning: Breakfast, Networking & Beyond Screens – MediaTech as the New Infrastructure

Growing up, we learnt math because calculators weren’t everywhere. Today, little screens guide our navigation, social lives, and careers. As digital dependence becomes unavoidable, young people immerse themselves in technology, often juggling multiple roles. What does this mean for mental health and human connection? Join Ruth Bajada, European Union’s deputy head of the US delegation and Shira Lazar, Emmy-nominated host and founder of What’s Trending and Creators 4 Mental Health, for a fireside chat.

For more information please visit: https://www.eeas.europa.eu/delegations/united-states-america/eusxsw-2026_en?s=253

SCREEN BETWEEN US: TECH AND HUMAN CONNECTION


SXSW Pitch-Student Pitch

Bryan Liu

Principal

Bryan is a Principal at Alumni Ventures with over 10 years experience in venture investing, M&A, and corporate strategy to identify the next generation of industry-defining companies. Bryan excels at identifying high-potential startups precisely before they scale. His current investment thesis is focused on the frontier of technological disruption, specifically the “Future of Media” driven by AI video; the rise of full-stack AI capable of building fully autonomous one-person-multi-billion-dollar companies; and breakthrough decentralized technologies and blockchain innovations that are redefining the infrastructure of the modern economy.

Prior to joining Alumni Ventures, Bryan led M&A and Venture deals at PayPal, where he managed and led seven major acquisitions totaling over $7 billion and a wide range of venture investments. Previously at Deloitte, Bryan advised global giants including Google, Disney, and Sony Pictures. He supported Disney through the acquisition of 21st Century Fox and the high-profile launch of Disney+, providing him with a unique vantage point on large-scale digital transformation.

Bryan led Alumni Ventures’ investment in Higgsfield, the “Canva for AI video” empowering millions of content creators and filmmakers globally. Higgsfield achieved a historic milestone, reaching $200M ARR in just nine months, the fastest growth trajectory in history outpacing OpenAI, Cursor, and Lovable. Bryan holds a BS from the University of Southern California and an MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. Outside of the office, he is an active marathon runner and a former heavy metal vocalist.

Akif Malik

Managing Partner

Gail Christine	 Gannon

CEO & Founding Director, Neurotech Collider Lab

Michael Psarouthakis

Innovation Partnerships at the University of Michigan

As Executive Director of Impact Investments & Strategic Alliances at Innovation Partnerships, Mike leads U-M’s investment programs, including the Accelerate Blue Fund and the Michigan University Innovation Capital Fund. He also develops new initiatives to attract outside investment in U-M startups and expand regional and national venture engagement to strengthen Michigan’s startup and investment ecosystem. Mike oversees the Technology Transfer Talent Network (T3N) and the Michigan Translational Research and Commercialization (MTRAC) programs for Life Sciences and Advanced Transportation, which support research commercialization at Michigan’s public universities, as well as U-M’s participation in the Mobility Accelerator Innovation Network under the Global Epicenter of Mobility (GEM) initiative.

Previously, Mike served as Director of Ventures and the first Managing Director of the Accelerate Blue Fund. Before joining U-M, he was Vice President of Business Acceleration at the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, managing a $250 million portfolio of investments in more than 150 early-stage technology companies. Earlier in his career, he was Assistant Vice President at Forest Health Services, where he managed a $50 million corporate venture fund and served as President of Sequoia Captive Insurance.

Mike has led several successful exits (GameZone, Online Technologies, EIP) and founded four companies. He has served on numerous boards, including eBay, PayPal, Compendia Biosciences, and the College for Creative Studies. He is Chair of the Ann Arbor Local Development Finance Authority and serves on the Ann Arbor SPARK Business Development Committee and the U-M Roundtable on Innovation and Entrepreneurship.

Mike holds an MBA (corporate strategy and marketing) and M.S. in natural resource management from the University of Michigan, and a B.S. in history and political science from Eastern Michigan University.

Justine Juillard

VC Investment Partner & Scout

Salon FGH

SXSW Pitch-Healthcare, AssistiveTech & BioTech

SXSW Pitch-Sustainability, AgTech & Food

SXSW Pitch-Smart Cities, Transportation, Manufacturing & Logistics

SXSW Pitch-Smart Data, Security, and FinTech

SXSW Pitch-Intelligent Systems, Robotics, & Multisensory Technology

The SXSW Pitch provides a platform for early-stage technology startups to present their groundbreaking products and services to a panel of distinguished industry experts, influential media professionals, and leading venture capitalists and angel investors.

On Friday, March 13, five innovative companies will take the stage in Salon FGH at the JW Marriott, showcasing their ideas, innovations, and entrepreneurial vision before a live audience and judging panel. Come be inspired by the next generation of tech innovators shaping the future.

Student startups that are showcasing innovative technology with a focus on Enterprise and Future of Work; Entertainment, Media, Sports & Creator Content; Healthcare, AssistiveTech & BioTech; Innovative World Tech; Intelligent Systems, Robotics, & Multisensory Technology; Smart Cities, Transportation, Manufacturing & Logistics; Smart Data, Security, and FinTech; Student Startups; and Sustainability, AgTech & Food. A student from the startup management team will need to present at SXSW Pitch.

Winner of the Student Pitch will be announced at the Award Ceremony, Saturday, March 14th at 6:30pm.


Amy Jenkins

Amy Jenkins (she/her) is a multi-disciplinary artist, whose work focuses on familial relationships, desire, and gender identity. She was recently awarded the 2024 Santa Fe Art Institute Residency, the 2023 Sundance Documentary Film Grant, the 2023 Robert Flaherty Fellowship, the 2023 Harvard Film Study Center-LEF Fellowship, the 2019 Ewing Award for Interdisciplinary Art, and the 2018 New Hampshire Film Festival Filmmaker of the Year. Her films have also been supported by LEF Foundation, Points North Institute, Perspective Fund, Center for Independent Documentary, and Gotham. Her artwork has been presented at museums including MoMA, The National Gallery of Art, The Haifa Museum, The Akron Art Museum and Palm Beach ICA. Her first documentary feature, "Instructions on Parting," premiered at MoMA Doc Fortnight 2018 and won Best Feature Documentary at Athens International Film and Video Festival, OH. Her short film "Wishes" premiered at the Camden International Film Festival in 2019, and screened at festivals including Salem, New Orleans, Ashland Independent, Frameline, OutfestLA, Sidewalk, NewFest, Wicked Queer, among others. Her artwork has been reviewed in many publications, including The New York Times, ARTnews, Bomb, Artcritical, Performing Arts Journal, and The Village Voice.

Alamo Lamar 3

I Got Bombed at Harvey's

Biography
Crime
Documentary
Drama
Thriller

I Got Bombed at Harvey's (aka 1,000 Pounds of Dynamite)

"Adam's Apple" is an intimate, collaborative documentary told through the dual perspectives of Adam, a transgender teen, and his mother, visual artist Amy Jenkins, that offers an authentic and tender counterpoint to the hostility facing trans youth today. Adam’s journey balances the milestones of gender transition with the rhythms of adolescence. As Adam asserts his identity and steps out into the world, his parents grapple with the challenges of raising a teen while learning to let go. Through a visually poetic approach, the film transforms a deeply personal archive, collected over two decades, into a powerful, joyful testament to the beauty and difficulty of reckoning with profound change.

Adam's Apple

A transgender teen and his mother chronicle their lives, artistically weaving a rare and intimate portrait of a family in transition. Two decades of footage trace a boy’s path to manhood and his parents' vulnerability as they reckon with change.

Adam Sieswerda, John Sieswerda, Elias Sieswerda

Consulting Producer: Amy Hobby, DI Colorist: Esmé Smith, Story Consultant: Carter Sickels


Patrick Bresnan

Using precise and illustrative cinematic images, Patrick Bresnan makes intimate films that counter the mythic concepts of America. Working with Ivete Lucas his features and shorts have premiere at Berlin, Sundance, The Quinzaine, Toronto, SXSW and T/F. In addition to making films he has served on the boards of experimental theaters and affordable housing non profits.

Satellite Venue: AFS Cinema

Time and Water

Archival Materials Courtesy of Andri Snær Magnason

The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist

Courtesy of Focus Features © 2025 Focus Features, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Your Attention Please

Health/Disability/Illness
Politics
Technology
Social Issue

Cookie Queens

African American
Latino
Texas
Women
Children
Disability
Native American/Indigenous
Youth/Teen

Courtesy of Beautiful Stories and AJNA Films

On January 6, 2023, Republican Governor Ron DeSantis enacted a right-wing takeover of a public university called New College of Florida, targeting both its culture and unique academic program for an ultra-conservative makeover. Resistance is immediate, but the campus descends into chaos as powerful political actors make sweeping changes. Caught up in the mix are a group of intellectually curious young people from all sides of the political spectrum intent on completing their studies at New College, which has suddenly become ground zero in the culture wars.

First They Came for My College

When the Governor of Florida transforms a beloved public honors college in a political coup, students and professors confront a new reality: their campus is ground zero in a growing nation-wide assault on academic freedom.

Holly Herrick
Harry W. Hanbury
Patrick Bresnan
Zackary Drucker

Patrick Bresnan
Sara Kinney
Daniel Potthast

Gaby Batista, Joshua Janniere, Libby Harrity, Lindsey Jennings, Dylan Niner, Amy Reid


Megan Rico

Megan Rico is a writer, director, and illustrator from the tropical swamp of Miami, Florida. She ran away to New York City the minute she graduated and has spent the last ten years writing and directing television for anyone who will let her, including Impractical Jokers, Above Average, and the sketch comedy show Studio C, among others.

Kade Atwood

Kade Atwood began his career directing beauty commercials before making the OBVIOUS transition into comedy. It was at the sketch comedy tv show, Studio C, that he found his funny bone.  Kade obsesses over finding the perfect frame for the joke. His work has been shortlisted at the Cannes Young Director Awards and won a Shiny Award.

Alamo Lamar 5

Seahorse

African American
Health/Disability/Illness
Social Issues
Women

Timid Catholic school dork Edie Arnold is dragged to a punk show where a mishap lands her on stage behind the drums. She's mortified... but a natural. Convinced by her best friend, she secretly forms a band called The NunDead. Her newfound confidence leads to a date with the altar boy but also a fight that gets her suspended. Thinking she bailed on their first gig, her bandmates bust her out of the house just in time to win a Battle of the Bands. But when she faces expulsion and her mother's wrath at a disciplinary hearing, footage of her kick-ass performance has an unexpected effect on her mom.

Edie Arnold is a Loser

Timid dork Edie accidentally makes waves when she starts a punk band with her fellow “turds," becoming an icon to the rest of the losers at her Catholic school while pissing off the hot girls, the nuns, and the horniest altar boy you’ve ever seen.

Paul & Janis Atwood
Marissa Hastings
Travis Hawkes
Jeremy Prusso
Loany Rico
Jason & Krissy Swallow
Jake Van Wagoner
Michael Scott Tuckett
Luke Michael Tuckett
Anne Noel Tuckett

Adi Madden Cabrera, McKenna Tuckett, Cherish Rodriguez, Niki Rahimi, Alexa Paige, Luseane Pasa, Star Herrmann, Alana Mei Kern, Gabe Root, Lucas Van Orden

Costume Designer: Amelia Kuhlmann, 1st Assistant Director: Kili Maile, Colorist: Keyhan Bayegan


Rollins Theatre at the Long Center

Cornbread Mafia

Addiction/Recovery
Legal
Senior/Aging
Social Issue

Action
Biography
Comedy
Crime
Documentary

African American
Books/Literary
Celebrity

Phoenix Jones: The Rise and Fall of a Real Life Superhero

Exceptional storytelling that captivates, surprises, and excites.

Marga en el DF

"Marga en el DF" is a slice-of-life film set during the aftermath of Selena Quintanilla’s death in 1995. The film captures the experience of Marga Salinas, a Dominican woman whose life unravels at 21 weeks pregnant during a surprise visit to Mexico City.

A Dominican woman's life unravels at 21 weeks pregnant during a surprise visit to Mexico City in the aftermath of Selena Quintanilla's murder.

Gabriela Ortega
Holly Stanton
Elle Keseley
Anna Moskowitz

Karla Luna Cantu
Carlos Lopez Estrada
Natalia Gonzalez
Eugenio Valero
Glenn Kiser
Amanda Schneider

MCO Studios
Camila de Laborde
Carlos Vértiz
Héctor Ruiz
Isaac Soto

Camila Santana, David Palacio, Xabiani Ponce de León, Andrea de Fátima, Diana Valencia

Costume Designer: Maria Molinari, Music Supervisor: Nacho Burgoa, Key Makeup Artist: Karla Dueñas, Colorist: Rudy Pesci, Harbour, Production Coordinator: Gabriela Dorneles, Cá Ordica, Additional Editing: Roberto Mendoza, First Assitant Director: Antonio Arizaga, Unit Production Manager: Augusto Ribeiro, Casting Director: Eugenio Valero, Alan Luna, Still Photography: Jacobo Sas

Can I Put You On Hold

Matthew and his girlfriend Dangmo dream of starting a life together in the U.S., but when her visa is unexpectedly denied, their future is thrown into limbo. Struggling with the cold reality of immigration barriers, Matthew seeks help from his lawyer, only to be left “on hold” as his world unravels. Blending grounded drama with surreal visual storytelling, Can I Put You On Hold explores the pressures of long-distance love, the excessive weight of bureaucracy, and the sacrifices people make to be together.

A man struggles with the crushing bureaucracy of immigration as he waits on hold with his immigration lawyer, trying to keep hope alive for his future with his fiancée, only to face a devastating setback that forces him to reconsider everything.

Matthew Cutler, Dangmo Kanyawee, Jason Cutler, Kindia du Plessis, Soonyoung Cutler

Co-Producer: Johvan Padilla, 1st AC: Landon Thomassen, Gaffer: Ariel Soto, Key Grip: Seth Taylor, Swing: Evan Moore, Production Sound: Jackson Hall, Stunt Support: Gaz Leah, Stunt Coordinators: Matthew Cutler and James Cutler, Stunt Driver: Scott Kyle, Production Assistants: Daniel Kirkham, Rodrigo Gutierrez, and Carson Blikenstaff

I Saw You In The Flood

Kai, a genderqueer Chinese-American, and their mother, Li, deal with the effects of a heavy storm on their basement apartment in Queens. Zhou, Kai’s grandfather, is dying in Northeast China. During this sleepless night, a familiar spirit visits Kai and mistakes them for Li.

As their grandfather's health worsens in Northeast China, Kai, a genderqueer Chinese-American in Queens, is visited by a familiar ghost while helping their mother, Li, deal with a heavy storm.

Shayan Ajmal Farooq
Camila Grimaldi
Kevin Xian Ming Yu

Gaffer: Dan Muller, Gaffer: Hunter Kaufman, 1st AC: Ginny Taglia, 2nd AC: Sofia Voss, Colorist: Zack Chalmers, Art Director: Blair Taller, Production Sound: Jessy Yang

Them That’s Not

Andrea “Drea” Stoney, a down-on-her-luck poet, finds herself at her grandmother’s repass, along with her seditty larger-than-life family. But Drea is sticking out like a sore thumb; she’s introspective, Queer, and proudly Deaf, albeit surrounded by her distant family members who don’t care to know ASL. Her visit is complicated by the arrival of her father Samuel, who’s 20 years into a 25-year prison sentence, released for the day on a furlough to say goodbye to his late mother. The two strangers, bound by blood & their love for the deceased, are forced to reconcile with each other before his inevitable return to prison.

A sudden prison furlough unexpectedly bonds an estranged father with his emotionally avoidant daughter at their matriarch’s repass.

Angel Theory, Biko Eisan Martin, Carrie Compere

2nd AD: Isaiah Forte Rose, Sound Mixer: Maddison Whitfield, 2nd AC: Jenny Desrosiers, Director of Artistic Sign Langauge: Alexandria Wailes, Head of DEI: Mars Rucker, 1st AD: David Sunny Roberts, Prod. Coordinator: Mark Marquez, 1st AC: Amir Rose-Aminfu, Hair/MakeUp: Camille J, On Set Interpreter: Alonso Arevir

Imago

Ana Sanchez and her mother Silvia share a very Latina bond, warm, playful, and steeped in guilt. But Silvia suffers from a rare illness that’s slowly turning her into a giant silverfish. As Ana bends to her mother’s escalating needs, her own life begins to unravel. The longer she avoids setting boundaries, the closer she comes to doing something she'll regret.

When Ana's mom starts transforming into a bug, their codependent relationship reaches its boiling point.

Jordan Peele
Win Rosenfeld
Keisha Senter

Didi Romero, Ada Luz Pla, Josh Plasse, Denise Blasor

Executive Producer: Kate Oh, Executive Producer: Dana Gills, Executive Producer: Kesila Childers, Creature Effects: ChumFX, Stop-Motion Effects: Acho Studio

Buah

In a time and place where abortion is illegal, the newly pregnant Siti finds herself trapped. Although married to a loving husband, she doesn’t want to be a mother. She secretly tries everything to rid herself of the foetus, but nothing works. When she meets a carefree female bus driver who is in fact a spiritual entity, Siti realises that the only way out may be to become one too.

In a time and place where abortion is illegal, a pregnant woman’s repeated attempts to end her pregnancy fail until she crosses paths with a strange bus driver.

Tysha Khan, Hana Nadira, Wan Ahmad, Aloeng Silalahi

Line Producer: Yve Vonn Lee, Assistant Line Producer: Eleanor Teh, Assistant Director (Singapore): Gina Tan, Assistant Director (Malaysia): Han Loong Lim, Script Supervisor: Mickey Lai, Intimacy Coordinator: Rayann Condy, Production Manager: See See Yong, Gaffer: Kwang Sin Chang, Location Sound Recordist/ Mixer: Vivieen Yeo, Colourist: Eugene Seah

We Were Here

Convinced that technology is replacing them, three retired Indian uncles threaten to take over the jobs of household appliances. But when one of their children lands a job at an A.I. company, it rattles their crusade. What happens when the future arrives and no one tells you? And what do you do then, to remind the world that you were here?

In a crumbling Indian town, three retired men stage a protest against machines taking over human jobs, by pretending to be household appliances.

EarlyMan Film
Supavitra Babul
Devaiah Bopannah
Rahul Bharti
Vaibhav Bundhoo

Satish Kashyap, Arindol Bagchi, Dvendra Dodke, Shubham Kujur, Kalpana Gagdekar, Yash Gonsai

Associate Director: Saarth Padmakar, Director's Assistant: Ashwin Karthikeyan, Chief Assistant Director: Niel Modi, Second Assistant Director: Yash Chadotra, Colorist: Yash Soni, Casting Director: Sumit Atri, Workflow Designer, Post Producer: Jay Dantara, Costume Stylist: Nirali Shah, VFX  Producer: Animesh Verma, Creative Consultant: Aashna Sharma

Narrative Short Program 2

English, Malay, Mandarin, Spanish; Castilian


Kyra Sedgwick

Kyra Sedgwick is an Emmy Award® and a Golden Globe® award-winning actress, producer, and director whose film and television work has captured and defined the zeitgeist. As a partner at Big Swing Productions, Sedgwick is committed to championing inclusive and thought-provoking stories that amplify bold voices and her work as a director has earned her a DGA Award nomination.

Kevin Bacon

Kevin Bacon has built a varied and critically acclaimed body of work by producing, directing and starring in a myriad of projects across film, television and stage. Notable projects include “Footloose,” “Tremors,” “A Few Good Men,” "Mystic River," “Diner,” and most recently “Leave the World Behind,” “and “MaXXXine.”

The Smiths have gathered once again on their quaint family farm to make the latest in a string of low-budget horror movies. No, the movies aren't particularly "successful." Some might even call them "bad." But at least the family is together, and that's what matters to Jack and Ellen. Their adult children, on the other hand - Trent and Ula - are working up the courage to leave this particular family tradition behind.
Simmering family dysfunction turns to pure chaos when a real dead body shows up on set. Can they come together to keep the movie on track, or will this be the Smith family's final act?

Family Movie

A filmmaking family’s low-budget horror movie turns into a real-life slasher when a dead body shows up on set. Chaos ensues as the Smiths fight to keep the production on track. After all - the show must go on!

Kevin Bacon
Kyra Sedgwick
Sosie Bacon
Travis Bacon
Vince Jolivette
Casey Durant
Greg Lauritano
Russell Wayne Groves
Benjamin Fuqua
John Lang

Kevin Bacon, Kyra Sedgwick, Sosie Bacon, Travis Bacon, Liza Koshy, John Carroll Lynch, Jackie Earle Haley, Andrea Savage, Austin Amelio, Scoot McNairy


Mark Becker

Documentary director and editor Mark Becker won the Humanitas Prize for "Vow of Silence" on Hulu. He co-directed Emmy-nominated "Art and Craft," which was shortlisted for the 2015 Academy Awards. He directed the  Emmy-nominated "Pressure Cooker." His first feature, "Romantico," premiered at Sundance and received two Independent Spirit Award nominations.

Aaron Schock

Emmy-nominated director Aaron Schock’s award-winning feature documentary "Circo" premiered at the the BFI London FF, was distributed theatrically in the US, UK, and Canada and shown nationally on PBS’s Independent Lens and internationally on HBO.  His "La Laguna" received a 2017 Cinema Eye Honors Award (among other awards) and released by Cinema Guild.

Alamo Lamar 6

Dead Eyes

Dir: Richard E. Williams. DOP: Julian Panetta

Mischa Heywood as Lilly - Dir. Richard E. Williams

#Skyking

Health/Disability/Illness
Politics
Social Issues

The Rise of the Red Hot Chili Peppers: Our Brother, Hillel

Black Zombie

African American
Education
Politics
Social Issue

From her crumbling estate on the Potomac, Yolanda Signorelli von Braunhut is engaged in a David-and-Goliath battle to wrest control of her late husband Harold’s iconic toy Amazing Live Sea Monkeys! back from the corporate men who stole them from her. Harold von Braunhut and Yolanda Signorelli worked together for forty years before Harold - a genius magician, scientist and inventor – passed away and left his iconic novelty toy in Yolanda’s care. Yolanda alone possesses the true Sea-Monkeys secret formula and she alone must free them, not only from their captors, but also from the stain of her husband’s dark legacy.

Amazing Live Sea Monkeys

From her crumbling estate on the Potomac, Yolanda Signorelli battles to wrest control of her late husband Harold’s iconic toy Amazing Live Sea-Monkeys from the corporate men who stole them from her and from the stain of her husband’s dark legacy.

Ben Cotner
Emily Osborne
Joe Caterini
Logan Snyder


Dano García

Dano García is a multi-award-winning documentary filmmaker. They studied at the NFTS in London and the ENAC (formally CUEC) Film School at the UNAM in Mexico City. In 2016 they directed Unsilenced, an NY Times Op-Doc about a Mexican activist who was murdered on-air while hosting a radio show for displaced residents. Their first feature documentary, Kings of Nowhere (2015), won the SX:Global Audience Award at SXSW, the Grand Jury Award at Full Frame Documentary Festival, the Golden Eye for Best International Documentary Film at the Zurich Film Festival, Best Documentary at the Morelia International Film Festival, the International Jury Prize at This Human World and the Cuauhtémoc Moctezuma-Ambulante Grant. The film screened at Sheffield Doc/Fest and MoMA’s Doc Fortnight, as well as being nominated for Outstanding Achievement in a Debut Feature Film at the 2016 Cinema Eye Honors and winning Best Director of a Documentary Film at the 2016 Cinema Tropical Awards. In 2015 it was included in Sight & Sound Magazine’s list of Best Films of the Year.

Their short film Porcelana (2013) won the Best Short Film at the Guanajuato International Film Festival (2013) and the Best Film Award at the AluCine Latin Film + Media Arts in Toronto, Canada (2015). Their short film La chica con dos cabezas won the Orona Award for Best Short Film in San Sebastian Film Fest (2018) and the Best Short Film at the Morelia International Film Festival, as well as screening as part of La semaine de la critique at the Cannes Film Festival.

Violet Crown 2

Agridulce (Bittersweet)

Education
Indigenous Culture
International
Latino
Social Issues
Children
Developing World
Social Issue
Youth/Teen

Mickey spent the last ten years exploring her transition process within the conservative context of Sinaloa, Mexico. Through digital archives, artistic reenactments, and deeply personal encounters, the film moves between tenderness and rage, transforming memory into an act of freedom. An exploration of self-perception and a non-punitive confrontation with the past.

Mickey

Spanish; Castilian with English Subtitles

Filmed over ten years, Mickey is a documentary about the memory of a trans woman from Sinaloa who, alongside the filmmaker who grew up with her, Dano, uses play and performance to re-signify the past and inhabit the present.

Dano García
Indira Cato
Joceline Hernandez
Alejandra Guevara Castillo
Christian Giraud

Mis$ Mickey, Jesse Sakeri López, Arturo Cundapí Bustamante, Angélica María Bustamante Andrews, Loreto Pozos Trejo, Javier Lizárraga Contreras, David Allegre


Sam Green

Sam Green’s most recent film “32 Sounds” played opening night of both the 2022 Sundance Film Festival and SXSW. Green’s other documentaries include “A Thousand Thoughts” (with the Kronos Quartet), “The Measure of All Things,” “The Love Song of R. Buckminster Fuller” (with Yo La Tengo), “Utopia in Four Movements,” and “The Weather Underground.”

"The Oldest Person in the World" is a decade-long global journey that chronicles the ever-changing record holders of the title of oldest person alive. What begins as a portrait of longevity becomes a meditation on the passage of time, the randomness of fate, and the joy and profound human experience of being alive.

The Oldest Person in the World

English, Catalan; Valencian, French, Japanese with English Subtitles

A decade-long global journey chronicles the ever-changing record holders of the title of oldest person alive. What begins as a portrait of longevity becomes a meditation on the passage of time, fate, and the profound human experience of being alive.

Alex Turtletaub
Jennifer J Pritzker
Maida Lynn
Julie Parker Benello
Jenifer Westphal
Marni Grossman
Roman Nesis
Nina and David Fialkow

Susannah Mushatt Jones, Emma Morano, Violet Brown, Kane Tanaka, Sister André (née Lucile Randon), Maria Branyas Morera

Associate Editor: John Tarquinio, Post Production Supervisor: James Doolittle, Line Producer: Claire Haley, Associate Producer: Nora Wilkinson, Associate Producer: Evan Neff, Archival Producer: Peter Nauffts


LGBTQ
Sex
Social Issues
Mature/Adult
Social Issue

Small Town Boys: The Murder of Billy London

Rachel Mason

Rachel Mason's films have won awards at Tribeca, Outfest, Inside-Out, NewFest, BFI London, Sidewalk International, Camden, Traverse City, Hamptons among other festivals.  Her film projects include "Last Take: Rust and The Story of Halyna," "An Update On Our Family (series)" and "Circus of Books."

Alamo Lamar 7

Ugly Cry

Health/Disability/Illness
The Arts/Theater
Women

The unsolved murder of Billy London, a gay adult film performer brutally killed in West Hollywood, was an urban legend for 33 years. A documentary intended to honor his life took an unexpected turn when members of the community joined forces to uncover overlooked clues, and seek a resolution to the mystery of who killed him. Drawing on a rare trove of VHS and personal footage, the film reveals a chilling overlap between the victim and some of the suspects who were captured on camera in films made in the narrow window of Billy's death.

My Brother's Killer

Impassioned members of the LGBTQ community band together to try to solve one of the most gruesome and mysterious murders in Los Angeles history.

Penelope Spheeris
Josh Braun
Ben Braun
James Cude

Christopher Rice, Eric Shaw Quinn, Clark Williams, ChiChi LaRue, Wendi Berndt, Krystal DeLight, Phil St. John, Sabin Grey, John Lamberti, Marc Rabins


Daughters of the Forest: Mycelium Chronicles

Otilia Portillo Padua

Mexican director. She studied architecture at Cambridge University and the Architectural Association, London. Her works include Three Voices, which premiered at SXSW and the Netflix short documentary Birders. She is a grant recipient of the FONCA, IMCINE, the Sundance Institute, the Redford Center, Artist Accelerator and the Doc Society.

Daughters of the Forest is a story of entanglements: between humans and mushrooms; the visible and the invisible; generational knowledge and modern science. This sci-fi documentary invites us to reconsider the experiences of both human and non-human inhabitants of our world.

We follow Lis and Juli, two young scientists from indigenous communities that have long lived in symbiosis with the many mushrooms in their regions. The world they know is changing, and their pursuits are threatened by deforestation, lack of opportunity, and loss. Still, they share how mushrooms show us different possibilities of coexistence, helping them overcome obstacles to reshape their lives and futures.

DAUGHTERS OF THE FOREST: MYCELIUM CHRONICLES

Deep in Mexico’s forests, this immersive sci-fi doc follows the unusual, fungi-driven paths of two indigenous mycologists as they seek to reconcile the past and present while reimagining the future for themselves and the changing world they inhabit.

Jessica Harrop
Caitlin Mae Burke
Maxyne Franklin

Paula Arroio
Elena Fortes
Otilia Portillo Padua

Eliseete Ramirez Carbajal, Julieta Serafina Amaya, Julia Dolores Raimundo, Zenaida Perez, Magdalena Martínez, Olivia Ayala

Post Producer: Fernando Maganda, Second Unit Camara: Miguel Labastida


Brian McElhaney

BriTANicK is the comedy duo of Brian McElhaney and Nick Kocher, childhood friends who have been making stuff together for over 20 years. Their first short film Eagles Are Turning People Into Horses premiered at the SXSW Festival in 2010. Since then, they have written for Saturday Night Live and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. In addition to Pizza Movie, they wrote Over Your Dead Body (also premiering at SXSW).

American Sign Language
Closed captioned
High sensory experience

It’s a Friday night and college students Jack and Montgomery have got big plans: They’re going to do drugs and order pizza. But when the home-made drug they ingest turns out to be MUCH wilder than they thought, the simple journey down two flights of stairs to retrieve their pie becomes a mind-bindingly transformative quest. Still though, how hard can it be? The only thing in their way is a broken elevator, Montgomery’s social anxiety, the fact that everybody in the school hates Jack, a sociopathic RA, a vengeful butterfly, a robot with a dream, and this insane drug that has absolutely no regard for the basic laws of reality.

Pizza Movie

A group of college students go downstairs to their dorm lobby to get a delivery pizza. There’s only one issue: They’re insanely high on a home-made drug, turning their simple journey down two sets of stairs into a mind-bendingly transformative quest.

Jeremy Garelick
Will Phelps
Billy Rosenberg
Jason Zaro
Molle DeBartolo
Max A. Butler
Matt Whelan

Gaten Matarazzo, Sean Giambrone, Lulu Wilson, Jack Martin, Peyton Elizabeth Lee, Marcus Scribner, Caleb Hearon, Sarah Sherman, Miguel-Andres Garcia, Justin Cooley

Co-Producer: John Sylva, Associate Producer: Axelle Azoulay, Associate Producer: Matt Sacca


Amber Love

Amber is a filmmaker and documentary editor based in Chicago, IL whose films explore intimate bonds and how we build futures together. Her work has been supported by PBS, HBO, IF/Then, The Gotham, NeXt Doc, and Short of the Week as well as screened at festivals including Doc 10 and Camden International Film Festival. Her most recent short film, “Lifetimes,” was funded by Firelight Films' Homegrown: Future Visions initiative and is available through PBS Digital. She has been a 2023 HBO/Gotham Diversity Development Fellow and a 2020 Sundance Art of Editing Fellow. One Another is her debut feature.

Alamo Lamar 8

Dead Deer High

Education
Social Issues
The Arts/Theater
Youth/Teen

Sometimes it takes the end of something to know what is really at stake. Joe, Giorgia, and Lorri are all grappling with the possible end of an intimate friendship at vastly different stages of life: a cross-country move, a mental health crisis, and a shift into empty-nesting have forced them each to reevaluate the support they need from those closest to them. Chronicling three different friendships over the course of three years, "One Another" brings together verite with a wealth of personal archives to intertwine their journeys as they search for what it really means for us to care for each other. The result is a story of change, heartache, and connection in this ode to platonic love.

One Another

As three of the filmmaker’s loved ones confront the possible end of close friendships, "One Another" follows their life changes, heartaches, and attempts to reconnect as they find a way forward.

Co-Producer: Elivia Shaw, Associate Producer: Matthew Shimmel, Color by: Quicksilver Color


Sidney Fussell

Sidney Fussell is a Brooklyn-based filmmaker and journalist, Co-Director of #WhileBlack. A former senior reporter at WIRED and technology reporter for The Atlantic, his work has appeared in Rolling Stone, The Guardian, and EBONY. He’s been featured on NPR, BBC, and Al Jazeera, and spoken at Mozilla and NYU’s Journalism & AI panel.

Jennifer Holness

Jennifer Holness is an award-winning writer, producer, and director, and Co-Director of #WhileBlack. The first Black woman in Canada to win a CSA for writing, she was named 2021 Indiescreen Producer of the Year and received the 2022 WIFT Award of Creative Excellence. She’s also a founding member of the Black Screen Office.

Alamo Lamar 4

My NDA

African American
Legal
LGBTQ
Politics
Social Issues
Women
Social Issue

The Life We Leave

Business/Entrepreneurial
Environment
Social Issue

#WhileBlack is an urgent documentary that centers on one of the most viral videos of our time: George Floyd’s murder, seen 1.4 billion times in 12 days, sparking protests in over 2,000 cities worldwide. With exclusive access to Darnella Frazier and others like  Diamond Reynolds, who livestreamed Philando Castile’s killing, the film reveals how social platforms and corporations profit from viral Black trauma, while survivors endure lasting psychological and physical danger. #WhileBlack is a powerful meditation on modern witnessing, exposing the human cost of viral footage while asking urgent questions about race, technology, and accountability.

#WhileBlack

Darnella Frazier, who filmed George Floyd’s death, steps forward in this powerful documentary on viral videos that ignited global movements revealing the cost of going viral while Black: trolls, surveillance, and platforms that profit from pain.

Ann Shin
Jeff Orlowski-Yang
Larissa Rhodes
Stacey Piculell
Geeta Gandbhir

Ann Shin
Jennifer Holness
Sidney Fussell

Darnella Frazier, Diamond Reynolds, Matthew Cagle, Matthew Mitchell, Safiya Noble, Allissa Richardson

Animation: Aaron Goldberg, Additional camera: Christian Bielz, Mike Rilstone, Amber Fares, Megan McCarthy Johnson


someshiit

someshiit is a Taiwanese hip-hop artist known for his unique blend of bedroom rap and live band arrangements. Drawing influence from UK, Japanese, and Korean hip-hop, he emerged in 2019 with the breakout single  “Those Who Told Me to Quit Smoking Are All Dead” (5M+ views on YouTube), the track’s poetic and raw storytelling quickly resonated with a new generation of listeners. His debut album ‘A FOOL’ pushed even further, fusing gritty lyricism with lush, genre-blurring production alongside collaborators like Samjoo (deca joins), Sam Yang, and Pei-Yu Hung, earning him Best New Artist at the Golden Melody Awards, Taiwan’s most prestigious music honor.
From TV screens “The Rappers 2” to major Taiwanese festival stages like Megaport, Vagabond, and FireBall Fest, he weaves lush live-band arrangements as the backbone of his sound, layered with razor-sharp, prose-like lyricism that cuts straight to the core. His self-produced shows consistently sell out, including his first overseas performance in Hong Kong, proving that his music’s emotional gravity transcends borders. Internationally, he has worked alongside acclaimed Japanese rapper maco marets and South Korean psychedelic band CHS, garnering attention from various media outlets and hip-hop labels.

With a reimagined EP set to drop in 2025 marking six years since his breakout hit, someshiit isn’t just evolving, he’s shaping a new creative language for Mandarin rap, redefining its boundaries one verse at a time.


Redbreast Unhidden Bar

The Redbreast Unhidden Bar is back for its second year! On March 13 - 14, step into the exclusive world of Redbreast Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey, where guests can discover expertly crafted cocktails and tastings with a cinematic twist.

Attendees must be over 21, be SXSW badge holders, and have pre-registered their attendance at the link below. Entry is also not guaranteed and permitted on a first come first serve basis.

Pre-register here: https://url.uk.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/Mn7eCL4NfREzGxhPi7Iyl7Et?domain=redbreastwhiskey.com

Redbreast

Redbreast Unhidden: Unearthing films worth talking about.

Discovering Redbreast is a revelation. That thrill of unearthing a hidden gem isn’t limited to whiskey bars – it lives wherever curious minds search for their next great find. That spirit brings us to the SXSW Film & TV Festival 2026 and year two of Redbreast Unhidden, our platform championing bold, original storytelling in film.

We’ve partnered with Irish actor Andrew Scott to spotlight exceptional talent in the Narrative Short competition and share it with the world. The must-see films of the category will be highlighted as our Redbreast Unhidden Selects, with one filmmaker receiving the prestigious Redbreast Unhidden Award at the SXSW Film & TV Awards on March 18th.

Join us March 15th at the Redbreast Unhidden Showcase for screenings of our selected films. You’re also invited to discover the Redbreast Unhidden Bar, tucked away in a secret Austin location from March 13th–14th, and attend an exclusive on-stage conversation between Andrew Scott and Deadline at the Omni Hotel on March 13th. And if that wasn’t enough, visit our surprise pop-up on Congress Avenue from March 12th–14th and experience our acclaimed Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey firsthand. For full details, scroll down or visit our website.


DJ Anupi

Hi Austin! I’m DJ Anupi, an Austin local with over 12 years in the music scene. My passion for DJing began in high school, driven by a desire to blend beats from the East and West and bring the best of both worlds together. Growing up listening to mostly Bollywood/South Asian music, I gravitated toward fusing global sounds with western styles. I started by creating mashups and quickly discovered my love for bringing people together and creating memories on the dance floor. What began as DJing high school dances soon evolved into spinning downtown on 6th Street, and eventually launching my own sound and events company. Through this journey, I’ve DJed everything from weddings and corporate events to large-scale public parties across Texas and the U.S. Running my events company gave me the opportunity to experience music from many cultures and styles around the world, further shaping my identity as a fusion DJ. Today, my style blends global rhythms and modern beats designed to move crowds and create memories. Recently, I’ve also stepped into music production, crafting remixes that I’m excited to start sharing on SoundCloud.
Looking forward to SXSW 2026! See you on the dance floor!


Isak Thomas and The Stoop Boys

Label Management, Gear Endorsement, Other Artists to Tour With, Booking Agent - US, PR/Publicity Agency, Publishing, Sync/Music Supervisors

Isak Thomas and The Stoop Boys is a soul/funk collective of artists primarily based out of Austin, Texas, and Nashville. Originally founded in Boston, MA, by Isak “Thomas” Kotecki (keyboard/guitar/vocals) in 2017, Isak began collaborating with close friends from music school, Connor Frawley (bass/vocals) and John Cattini (lead guitar/vocals), with a shared love of ’70s soul, funk, and rock music.
When the three eventually moved their separate ways across the country, they continued to convene once a year for a week of writing and recording. This tradition has stayed true through three EPs and two albums, garnering millions of streams and features such as KUTX’s Song of the Day.
The group has a unique take on its writing process, with every member serving as a rotating writer and vocalist, centered around native Austinite Isak Kotecki as producer. In the latest full album release, 'The Stoop Boys', the group saw the addition of Armando Baeza (drums/vocals) and Logan “Wildman” Garza (vocals/percussion), also joining as writers.
The Stoop Boys aim to bring music that feels like yesterday, hits like today, and sticks with you tomorrow.


Lovpune

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Lovpune is a queer indie-electronic pop artist who moved from conservative Texas to Los Angeles. She channels that transformation into late-night soundscapes perfect for empty highways and midnight dance floor connections. Writing and producing her own music, she creates infectious hooks wrapped in shimmering melodies. Lovpune is a soundtrack to stories of chosen family and authentic self-discovery.


Zastava

zastava is a music band from detroit, mi


Buddy Red

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Buddy Red is the Southern blues artist delivering the raw, cinematic sound of the Black American experience. A vocalist, guitarist, and preacher of truth, he stands where the cosmic mystique of Jimi Hendrix meets the uncompromising funk of James Brown and the psychedelic scope of Pink Floyd. A fixture of Atlanta's legendary Northside Tavern, Buddy is a vital voice recognized for his visceral guitar work and impassioned storytelling, captivating live and digital audiences alike.

Since his breakout debut at SXSW, which included a featured set at The Shade Room's activation in 2023, his momentum is undeniable. He recently performed at the James Brown Estate for the Black Music Action Coalition’s Juneteenth celebration and shared the stage with Little Richard's original band at Tutti Frutti Music Festival. His new single, "Sold His Soul," cemented his rise as a cinematic blues revivalist, with his cultural influence extending through partnerships with the Atlanta Hawks and BMW and a festival performance at Neon Prarie in Tulsa. Buddy Red is returning to SXSW as an essential force.


Wilby

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Jersey-born Maria Crawford has been paving her way through the Nashville independent music scene since 2014. Now Brooklyn-based, she continues to capture listeners with her fiercely vulnerable songwriting and compelling live performances. Wilby’s debut single “Bad” (2020) gained immediate attention, followed by "Translucent Beauty” (2021), drifting between bedroom pop and indie rock. Her sophomore EP, “Happiest Woman” (2023), marked a shift toward showcasing a full-band production, mirroring the force of Wilby’s live sound. Wilby’s debut album, “Center of Affection” (2025, via Hit the North Records), explores both the cathartic side of indie-rock and the vulnerable side of twangy folk. Wilby has been featured in FLOOD Magazine, Luna Collective, and Ones To Watch, named an Artist to Watch by Atwood Magazine, with support from Seattle’s KEXP and Nashville’s WNXP and Lightning 100.


Our Shame

Blending folktronica with and leftfield pop, the duo Our Shame (凹與山) consists of producer/singer-songwriter Estelle H and percussionist Isan, seeks something spiritual in the modern day technology addiction from an East Asian perspective.

Their debut album ‘Modern Problem’, an independently produced fusion of electro-folk and retrowave, the album has  earned recognition from music editors across Europe, North America, Australia, New Zealand, and Southeast Asia, finding its way into many curated playlists and Spotify Viral 50. On their second album, ‘Hidden Album’(2025), Our Shame approach it like wallflowers at an underground rave, documenting the unspeakable with a quiet but unflinching lens. Built on a foundation of folktronica and synth-pop, their palette stretches from acoustic guitars and field recordings to splashes of Trip-hop, UK Garage and techno.

With a unique mix of soulful vocals, synthesizers, guitars, drum machines, their sound fuses the cold textures of digital precision with the warmth of analog tones. The duo has performed at notable events like Reeperbahn Festival 2024 (Germany), Minami Wheel (Japan), Megaport Festival (Taiwan) and Sonik Philippines.


Mariae Cassandra

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Mariae Cassandra is an Australian singer songwriter from Perth, Western Australia, rapidly emerging as one of the country’s most compelling new voices. First capturing attention through her online songwriting videos and viral moments across TikTok, Instagram and YouTube, Mariae’s ability to pair intimate storytelling with hook driven pop has resonated with a growing global audience.

In 2024, Mariae won triple j Unearthed High with her breakout single “MillIon Billion Trillion” - a heartfelt ode to friendship that showcased her knack for emotionally direct, timeless songwriting. The win marked a turning point, positioning Mariae as a standout new artist and accelerating her rise beyond digital platforms.

Throughout 2024-25, Mariae built strong momentum, touring nationally as support for WAFIA, Spacey Jane, The Buoys and boywithuke, signing to Select Music and her debut EP “Everything In my Backpocket” via AWAL.

In 2025, Mariae warmed up main stages for Charli XCX and beabadoobee at Laneway Festival, was named one of Live Nation’s Ones To Watch and showcased at BIGSOUND and SXSW Sydney.


Sarah Crean

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Irish/Brighton-based artist Sarah Crean is an indie-pop singer-songwriter whose music combines emotional clarity with layered, melodic arrangements. Her 2023 EP Death by Laundry featured the breakout single “2:00am,” now streamed over 7.5 million times on Spotify, and earned support from BBC Introducing, BBC Radio 1, The Line of Best Fit, Clash, Nialler9, and Spotify editorial playlists. The first single from her upcoming album, “22 Angel,” has already reached 80,000 streams and was featured on New Pop UK.

Sarah has toured the UK supporting acts including Florence Road, U.S. Girls, and Bombay Bicycle Club, with highlights such as a performance at the O2 Forum London alongside CMAT. Now independent and on the verge of her debut album - created entirely by women and inspired by the myth of Calypso - Crean explores heartbreak, home, and everything in between. With the album due mid-2026, she is emerging as one of alt-indie pop’s most compelling new voices.


Big Fat Head

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Big Fat Head is a byproduct of 21st century indulgence and a band consumed by sin. Based in Columbus, Ohio, this five-piece rock outfit has been categorized as “post-post-post punk” and “skuzz rock” by fans and enemies alike. First conceived by frontman Nate Wilder during a weekend visit in jail, a consistent live band was ultimately formed with partner Olivia Stefanoff and close friends Jordan Latas, Stanic Russ, and Felicity Gunn in the aftermath of Covid. Since 2021, Big Fat Head has maintained loyalty to their homegrown tape label and oft slept-on Ohio rock scene, self-released over 40 songs, played nearly 200 shows, with over 75 out of town. While sharing a scene in the shadow of Ohio legends like Devo, Breeders, Times New Viking, etc. with bands like Golomb, Villagerrr, Winston Hightower, DANA, & countless others, Big Fat Head carved their own niche-within-a-niche and found opportunities opening for national acts such as Being Dead, TAGABOW, Sweeping Promises, Wishy, Bnny, GOON, Speedy Ortiz, Lewsberg, & more. With two finished albums in their back pocket and no outside support to date, Big Fat Head embarks to Austin, Texas looking for love with their hearts on their sleeves.


Art Decade Creatives - Austin Heavy Hitters

Glass Mansions

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Austin alt-pop trio Glass Mansions create music that moves — propulsive beats, heavy synths, and intimate pop melodies led by the sultry, unmistakable voice of Jayna Doyle.

Live, it’s pure Rock n’ Roll – raw, sweaty, passionate and covered in a cloud of fog and confetti – and chances are you’ve probably seen them at some point or another as they’ve crisscrossed the country, playing places like SXSW for the past 3 years and Warped Tour, Canadian Music Week, Illfest, Indie Week Canada,  and Florida Music Festival before that. They've also shared the stage with bands like Phantogram, Robert Delong, Young The Giant, Urban Heat and The Unlikely Candidates along the way.

Their music has been featured on MTV, Netflix and Bravo and after releasing the fiery "STANDING O" in 2022 and sultry "NEARSIGHTED" in 2023 to both streaming success and critical acclaim the band has returned with the dark alt-pop track "VIOLET" and accompanying music video to finish the trilogy.

In 2025 the band was selected to become a Sonic Guild Artist, accelerating their creative output. Look for a brand new single to be released just before SXSW.


Randy Perez

Brand Partnership, Distribution - US, Other Artists to Tour With, Producer/Studio Engineer, Publishing

Randy Perez is a producer and DJ based in Phoenix, Arizona. Growing up just outside of Madison, Wisconsin, Randy found his love and passion for music in the local garage band scene, finding him spending countless hours studying classic rock, punk, and metal.

Randy began his electronic music career in 2022, quickly gaining a reputation for high energy, genre spanning sets, lighting a spark in every crowd. Randy is a performer who feeds off the energy and emotion of his audience. As a producer, his growth is evident from 2024 singles 'Not Like You' and 'This Baby's on Acid,' to 2025's 'Warehouse in West Phoenix,' and 'The Motion,' with Canadian artist Ashton Adams.

Randy is a staple at clubs and festivals, including Decadence and Goldrush Arizona. He has supported artists such as Diplo, Sidepiece, Jauz, Omnom, Valentino Khan, and more on their Arizona stops and performed in San Diego, Los Angeles, and Toronto.

Randy has received support from Angry Dogs Records (San Diego), Direct Action Records (Miami), LFTD Global (Canada), Storytime Records, and Synesthesia Records (Phoenix). He is a Cosmic Academy alum, and his single ‘The Motion’ received support on Insomniac Radio (Analog).


FEET

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When FEET self-released their debut album in 2019, the group offered up a particularly oblique title: What’s Inside Is More Than Just Ham. But once listeners delved into the record,  they found sloshing’s of guitar music that careered wildly between indie, psych, and subtle shades of new wave across an exciting and unpredictable 35 minutes. Since then, FEET have seen prominent live shows have seen them supporting the likes of Inhaler and even The Rolling Stones at their huge 2022 Hyde Park shows. The bands second album "Make It Up" garnered further critical acclaim with the band being invited to perform a BBC 6Music Live session off the back of the single releases Greasy Boy, Why Would I Lie and The Real Thing.

The band are returning in 2026 with their third album to be released on Submarine Cat Records amidst a year of heavy touring which will see the band on two UK and European headline stints throughout the album campaign. A very welcome return, then, for one of Britain’s most inventive bands, starting a new chapter afresh that builds on the brilliance of their first outing and takes it to a new level entirely. 2026, it’s fair to say, is ready for Feet to stomp all over it.

British Music Embassy @ Palm Door on Sixth Patio


Fine Food Market

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Fine Food Market is the folk dream-pop project of Montreal-based multi-disciplinary artist Sophie Perras. Drawing from her training as a classical pianist and inspired by the sound of her beloved PSR3000 keyboard, the songs of Fine Food Market are intuitive, emotional, and fun.

Fine Food Market builds from the rudiments of country-folk and the experimental tendencies of the indie genre to articulate a musical place filled with sunny fields, old cars, and brightly painted houses.

Both eclectic and whimsical, the songs of Fine Food Market can also contain a real sadness, a feeling especially discoverable in her French lyrics. As a bilingual artist she unravels intimate and intricate musings in her own language, writing in a voice reserved for speaking to a close friend. Ultimately sincere, Fine Food Market may also pick up the tools of satire to describe difficult events of her own life.

Fine Food Market’s first EP, “I’m afraid to be in love with someone who crashes their car So much” was released in the beginning of March 2025 with Arbutus Records.


BARTLY

Zilker Brewing

Isak Thomas and The Stoop Boys

courtesy of the band/artistPool Stoop_Square_5mb


Amie Blu

“Rich with honesty and unbridled emotion” (Rolling Stone UK), Amie Blu feels perfectly at home in a new wave of alternative artists - Mk.gee, Dijon, SZA - whose casual handle on genre nonetheless feels completely rooted in classic, crafted songwriting. Born of French heritage in South East London, Amie cut her teeth in community projects growing up - ArtsTrain, Flames Collective – whilst developing her sound, and sense of self, across 2024 mixtape how we lose. Introspective but frank, songs like ‘everything about her’ showed a poetic brand of realism - and soulful, stop-you-in-your-tracks voice - way beyond Amie Blu’s years. Since then, Amie has opened for Joy Crookes, Jacob Banks, Faye Webster and sold-out her own headline dates as she builds up to 2025's debut album, when all is said and done. Featuring acclaimed singles like 'swimming in pity', 'shadow', and 'missing everything', it's a record drenched in feeling; startling explorations of love, loss, depression and human connection, but ultimately about the relationship with the self. Far from an exploration of endings, when all is said and done is the start of something truly special from Amie Blu.

British Music Embassy @ Palm Door on Sixth


Meg Elsier

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meg elsier is an indie-rock singer, songwriter, and visual artist based in New York City. One of the most exciting new voices in the indie-rock scene, meg juxtaposes sweet vocals and opulent melodies with grungy guitars and weighty production. Keen wit and self-awareness shine through her lyrics, seamlessly weaving into the fabric of her ethereal shoegaze sound.

meg's debut album 'spittake' blends elements of grunge, contemporary pop, folk, and indie-rock, and showcases meg’s ability to create dynamic, versatile, and effortlessly catchy music. Across the album’s 11 tracks, she delivers musings on love, death, nostalgia, youth, anxiety, depression and everything in between, with a uniquely self-deprecating touch. “The story isn’t necessarily linear,” she explains. “But the main connection throughout is this unreliable narrator that you as a listener determine your view/trust of. They are incredibly inconsistent with their statements but I believe they think they’re telling the truth.”


Swapmeet

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Swapmeet are an Adelaide/Kaurna Country based four piece who are set to release their debut album in 2026. With indie rock foundations, characterised by sonic experimentation, and a punk spirit, Swapmeet are known in the local and international circuit for their playful, chaotic onstage presence.

After a successful showcasing debut at BIGSOUND 2024 - the band returned home for the South Australian Music Awards where Swapmeet were awarded "Best Release" for their debut EP "Oxalis" and "Best Song" for fan favourite "Ceiling Fan".

2025 saw the band tour nationally with The Murder Capital and support Suki Waterhouse at PICA. In between sold out debut headline shows - Swapmeet showcased at SXSW Sydney 2025 and left having been awarded with "Best Emerging Artist". Swapmeet will be backing this up at SXSW Texas - making this the bands international live debut.


Chiara Savasta

Chiara Savasta is a singer-songwriter from Montreal. Born in the suburbs of the city, onto a generation burdened by anxiety and desillusion, Chiara would sit in her room and romanticize her life through songwriting.

This way of escaping her teenage life became the foundation of her first project Summerhood. Released in 2022, Summerhood is Chiara’s own take on the coming-of-age experience, as she herself stumbles into adulthood.

Her new project, brand new girl, brand new machine, captures the universal experience of feeling too much of everything at once, in our early twenties. This new chapter reveals a more grounded and mature soul, gradually finding her footing in the world. It’s through these ups and downs, always chasing the next dream, that Chiara became a brand new girl, like a brand new machine.


REHMA

Inspired by her culturally rich & diverse upbringing, between her Pakistani-Muslim heritage to her formative days in Chicago, REHMA's sonic worlds are eclectic & vibrant. The singer-songwriter artfully weaves her powerful vocals with poetic lyricism, floating between pop, dance, and R&B, to create a singular soundscape & aesthetic that she coins as "desi-futurism"
Off the back a buzzing 2024, with a massive feature on Coke Studio (100M+ views across platforms), the cover of EQUAL Pakistan & a top slot on the Best Of Fresh Finds Year-End List), & earned co-signs from Savan Kotecha, Natasha Noorani, Zulfi, Sid Sriram & more. She's cemented herself as a promising creative force, not only in the rising South Asian diaspora, but across global pop music. Her forthcoming project, ANOMALY, is a refreshing take on modern pop & a timely, urgent coming of age story from the Pakistani-Muslim multi-hyphenate as she navigates her identity, religion, sexuality, and femininity.


Vicky Jewson

British writer and director, Vicky Jewson has quickly gained recognition for captivating audiences with compelling female narratives told through a modern and commercial lens.

An action-packed thriller where five ballerinas, stranded in a remote forest, take shelter at an unsettling roadside inn. They must weaponize years of brutal training, turning grace, discipline, and even pointe shoes into tools for survival.

Pretty Lethal

Kelly McCormick
Mike Karz
William Bindley
Piers Tempest

Iris Apatow, Lana Condor, Millicent Simmonds, Avantika, Maddie Ziegler, Uma Thurman


Olivia Ellen Lloyd

Booking Agent - US, Booking Agent - UK/Europe

Olivia Ellen Lloyd will try anything once. From flight attendant school in Dallas to producing theater in New York City and teaching in Guatemala, Lloyd sought an adventurous life, but struggled to find a greater sense of purpose. That is, until she found her way back to music. Lloyd channels her restless spirit into songs that pay homage to her Appalachian roots while charting fresh territory for a sound that is uniquely her own.

Heavily influenced by country, folk, and indie rock, Lloyd’s sound combines the rooted sounds of her traditional Appalachian upbringing with the fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants nature of her current life. She is inspired by the rich sounds of New York City, the peaceful quiet of her small West Virginia hometown, and life on the road in between.

Her 2025 sophomore record "Do It Myself" landed her debut appearances at Mountain Stage, Americana Fest, and Brooklyn Folk Festival and her debut album, Loose Cannon, has been streamed over 1 million times while Olivia has been busy crossing the country opening for artists like Kelsey Waldon, Tommy Prine, and Jobi Riccio, winning songwriting contests (Kerrville in 2023), and generally eating life down to the rind.


Basht.

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"Basht. are an Irish band whose backgrounds collide into something heavy and hungry." - DORK

Following on from a year of supporting Wunderhorse on tour, as well as shows with Been Stellar, Goo Goo Dolls and Deadletter, Basht. have earned their stripes with emphatic live performances. Having propelled themselves up to being one of the hottest rock/alternative acts, whispers of more new music on the horizon leaves many in eager anticipation for 2026.


Modern Cinema Master

Modern Cinema Master is a four-piece band formed in Taipei, whose sound is heavily influenced by the independent rock of the 1990s. Their music is driven by sharp noise, post-punk energy, and lo-fi anthems.

Since 2019, the band has remained true to its roots, focusing wholeheartedly on creation. To date, they have released two EPs, three singles, and two double-CD albums, amassing more than forty original songs. Their live performances are equally renowned, frequently selling out thousand-capacity venues in Taiwan and China. In 2025, they were invited to perform at the Incheon Pentaport Rock Festival in Korea, where they received an enthusiastic response.

Modern Cinema Master’s music is simultaneously raw and refined, pairing poetic, thought-provoking lyrics with a powerful sonic edge. Their track “I Want to Kill Romance and Murder Poetry” earned Taiwan’s most prestigious independent music award for Best Rock Song, with the jury praising it as “savagely precise, capturing the very essence of rock.”

Blending fierce, driving melodies with blunt, hard-hitting lyrics, The Modern Cinema Masters fuse critique and irony into one powerful voice, a sound that captures the essence of our times.


Subpar Snatch

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Subpar Snatch is a fierce, unapologetic punk rock powerhouse from Austin, Texas, delivering high-energy anthems that punch as hard as they play. Known for blistering bass riffs, riotous rhythms, and unapologetically raw lyrics, the band turns every stage into a sweaty, cathartic release for the crowd. These self-proclaimed shit asses draw on influences like Riot Grrrl and modern garage punk, Subpar Snatch blends ferocity with fun — their live shows are equal parts mosh pit and inside joke, fueled by razor-sharp wit and pure, unfiltered passion. They’ve built a loyal following through electrifying performances at local venues, roller derby bouts, and DIY festivals, creating an inclusive space for rebels, misfits, and anyone who wants to scream along.
With a reputation for turning chaos into community, Subpar Snatch is ready to bring their high-octane, Texas rebellion to a stage near you. "Subpar" is anything but.


Honey I'm Home

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Honey I'm Home is an Amsterdam-based shoegaze outfit that powerfully captures the raw energy of '90s alternative rock and blends it with a fresh, modern sound. Inspired by bands like My Bloody Valentine, Smashing Pumpkins, and DIIV, they've created their own unique take on the shoegaze, indie, and emo genres. On stage, Honey I'm Home unleashes their full power: captivating live shows that balance between fragile intimacy and explosive outbursts carried by layered guitars and deeply felt lyrics.

Recently named #1 emerging act at Europe’s leading new-music showcase festival (ESNS), a list with a strong track record of identifying artists before their breakthrough. “Honey I'm Home is reaping the benefits of the shoegaze revival. But it's not just timing, they are really great. The packed room gets their faces melted off, but sometimes gets a breather in the shape of a beautiful verse. The unexpected breaks, original melodies and smart tempo changes give the set its own, authentic sound.”

The band supported Hotline TNT, Goat Girl and the Crawlers on shows throughout the EU and UK, and played key European showcase festivals including ESNS, Reeperbahn Festival and Left of the Dial.


amri

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amri fuses her Indian roots into putting a spin on her much-loved Soul and R&B to create a fresh, new, jazzy, colourful sound. Branching into a range of sounds built in Carnatic melodies, amri balances relatable lyrics to a fun, fresh groove. Born and primarily brought up in London alongside Guernsey, she draws from these experiences in her writing. With so many inspirations she branches from, her soulful, sweet melodies will surely hold a piece of something you love and play over in your head!

She touches on her exposure in the world as a young woman of colour, translating this into getting you to feel, sing and move with her. Her debut EP ‘grooves in a SMILE’ invites you into her world to feel, sing and move with her. Having been interviewed on BBC Bristol’s Breakfast show, songs featured on BBC Introducing Radio and showcased in RESONATE and KICKDRUM magazines, amri has been gaining attention, and seems not to be slowing down.
Now based in Bristol with her band, her blend of the smooth, sultry edges of jazz and soul, combined with brass and sitar, creates a unique fusion that’s not one to miss..


Marina Zenovich

Marina Zenovich is an Emmy award-winning filmmaker.  Her last film, I’M CHEVY CHASE AND YOU’RE NOT, premiered on CNN and can be seen on HBO Max.   This is her fourth film to play at SXSW.

An intimate, arresting portrait of cyclist Moriah Wilson—raised by a fierce, loving family—whose singular drive becomes her superpower, carrying her to athletic brilliance and, devastatingly, toward a life cut short by murder.

The Truth and Tragedy of Moriah Wilson

Ayesha Rokadia
Justin Barocas
P.G. Morgan
Marina Zenovich


Amy Bandlien Storkel

Amy Bandlien Storkel is best known for directing, producing, and editing the Emmy Award winning documentary "The Pez Outlaw" (SXSW 2022) and for producing "Dickweed" (SXSW 2024). Amy is also the Showrunner for the AMC series "Smugshot," which is currently in its second-season.

Bryan Storkel

Bryan Storkel is best known for directing the Emmy Award winning documentary "The Pez Outlaw" (SXSW 2022) and the Netflix Original Film "Bitconned" (2024). Bryan was also the Showrunner for the comedy doc series, "It’s Florida Man" (HBO 2024). Currently, he is directing a Hulk Hogan documentary series for Netflix.

In 1980, an ingenious boobie-trapped ticking time bomb - filled with 1,000 pounds of dynamite - was wheeled in the front doors of Harvey’s Wagon Wheel Casino in Lake Tahoe. Along with the bomb was a note demanding $3 million within 24 hours. While the bomb squad attempts to disarm the explosive, the FBI races the clock to deliver the ransom and simultaneously catch the extortionists. Nothing goes as planned, and each step uncovers darker secrets and suspicions of a deeper motive.

I Got Bombed at Harvey's

1,000 pounds of dynamite. $3 million in cash. One casino at the edge of disaster.

Biography Crime Documentary Drama Thriller

Chris Smith
Andrew Corkin
Howard Owens
Ben Silverman
Theo Love
Michael Driscoll
Robert Marshall
Brian Lazarte
James Lee Hernandez

Evan Vetter
Scott Evans
Amy Storkel
Dava Whisenant
ACE

Igor Grbesic, Ethan Riley, Ian S. Peterson, Michael Solarez, Jennylyn Caterina, Marianne Wiedeman, William Swartzbaugh


Hanorah

Searching. Playfulness. Rediscovery of the once known. These thoughts permeate through Hanorah’s creative impulse. The multidisciplinary Canadian artist, chiefly known for her
powerful emotive voice, transforms the old into the new as she charts waters at once familiar and unknown. Weaving influences from RnB, rock, and shoegaze, she’s ready to redefine what soul music can be, exploring new sonic landscapes as she creates something both fresh and timeless.

Her new EP, Closer Than Hell, is a collection born from that very tension—between desire and uncertainty, between the things you don’t know and the parts of yourself you’re afraid to face. The theme of searching threads through each song, a quiet but persistent pull toward something elusive, something just out of reach. You hear it in the aching vulnerability of her lyrics, the way her voice rises and falls as if chasing after a feeling that might only exist for a fleeting second, before slipping away. But there’s play in it too. Her EP is about the delicate, messy dance between letting go and holding on—about being lost but also willing to find the joy in the search.