There is perhaps no other festival that captures Austin’s spirit quite like South by Southwest. Our city is home to a myriad of individual music and film festivals, tech startups and educational conferences; but, for one week every March, those niches converge for hundreds of thousands of people. At no other time of year can one find so many influential figures milling about Red River and 6th Street feening for a taste of the city just like the rest of us.
Founded in 1987 by a small group of Austin Chronicle employees, SXSW started out mainly hosting musicians and keynote speakers. That first year, the organizers expected only 150 attendees but were met with 700 — an unrivaled instant success. Before long, the conference branched out into other areas like sports, tech and education. Alongside these momentous additions eventually came what I would argue is the largest aspect of the festival to date — the SXSW Film & TV Festival.
Celebrating its 30th birthday this year, the SXSW Film & TV Festival has attracted some of the best talent from all around the country. Early on, the festival saw screenings of films like “The Basketball Diaries” and “Chasing Amy.” Later, in 2009, Kathryn Bigelow’s “The Hurt Locker” screened at the festival, a film that would go on to receive nine Academy Award nominations and win six of them, including Best Picture. This wouldn’t be the last time a Best Picture winner would grace The Paramount Theater. But before we get to that, we must acknowledge the titles that have shaped modern American cinematic history. Cult classic comedies like “Kick-Ass” and “21 Jump Street;” indie darlings like “Short Term 12;” and female-led teen comedy revivals like “Booksmart” and “Bottoms” all had their world premieres at SXSW.
Then, in 2022, the first year back in person after the festival was canceled in 2020 and went virtual in 2021, something extraordinary happened. “Everything Everywhere All at Once” had its world premiere: a film that would go on to accrue 11 Academy Award nominations and win seven of them, including Best Actress, Best Director(s) and Best Picture. Not only did the film rack up more nominations and wins than any other movie that year, it sparked a cultural phenomenon that coaxed young people back into movie theaters. In an era of comic book movies, sequels and intellectual property adaptations, an original multiverse story about an immigrant mother’s relationship with her daughter proved that audiences care more than ever about diverse stories. And it all started in our city.
Though Austin is widely known as the Live Music Capital of the World, a title attributed to festivals like Austin City Limits, Oblivion Access and Levitation, it’s also a mecca for film lovers as evidenced by Austin Film Festival, Fantastic Fest, Cine Las Americas International Film Festival and countless others. Austin might be home to the best live music in the world, but it’s also where the best films in the world choose to introduce themselves. SXSW proves that our city isn’t just music, it’s movies too.
