SXSW teams up with Amazon Prime Video for a virtual festival

The South by Southwest festival, or SXSW as it is popularly know, was supposed to take place in March this year, but had to be cancelled because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. However, the organizers have now decided to go ahead with this year’s festival, but in a virtual way. 

SXSW has partnered with Amazon Prime Video to stream the festival on the OTT platform. The filmmakers, whose films will be shown at the festival, were notified about the same yesterday. 

Jennifer Salke, the head of Amazon Studios, said in a media statement, “We are supporters of SXSW and other independent film festivals, and hope this online film festival can help give back some of that experience and showcase artistes and films that audiences might otherwise not have had the chance to see.” 

An official statement by the festival organizers said, “Filmmakers who choose to participate will receive a screening fee for streaming their film over the 10-day period. SXSW has shared details on the opportunity with 2,020 filmmakers, who can opt in, starting today.” 

According to The Hollywood Reporter, this doesn’t mean that Amazon Prime will get the rights to screen these films just because they will be streamed as part of the festival. The producers of these films are free to choose other distributors after the festival. But the films which have already tied up with the rivals of Amazon Prime are likely to forgo the festival. 

According to the portal, the SXSW streaming is likely to take place later this month.