![]() “We are definitely looking for an edge,” says festival programmer Janet Pierson. The naturalistic movies grouped under the umbrella term “Mumblecore” have often been celebrated at SXSW. Running simultaneously with Interactive is SXSW Film, which has a tradition of hip popcorn films, low-budget American independents and midnight genre flicks. Last year, after the similarly timed iPad 2 launch, Apple set up a regularly mobbed pop-up shop at SXSW. Its new iPad, announced Wednesday, will surely be a major topic of conversation, both among those looking to purchase one and for app-makers scrambling to adapt to it. One heavyweight, though, is expected to suck up much of the Austin air: Apple. One of the buzzed-about start-ups coming to this year’s SXSW is Pinterest, a pinboard-style sharing site whose founder, Ben Silbermann, will be speaking. This year, SXSW is premiering a new Start-up Village that will gather young companies looking for the SXSW-bump - a goal not unlike those of thousands of bands that come to Austin, seeking hype. ![]() In 2007, a little thing called Twitter broke out from the pack in Austin, and two years later, Foursquare was also effectively launched into a nationally known location-based social networking site. That’s been partly driven by the success some start-ups have found at SXSW. “There’s lots of reasons for the growth, but the general reason that encapsulates it all is the growth of social media and social networks.” “It’s not all that apparent what we’re doing different now, but knock on wood,” says Hugh Forrest, director of SXSW Interactive. Film and what was then called “multimedia” were added in 1994.Īfter some lean years supported financially by the music side of SXSW, the Interactive part of SXSW has in recent years swelled to become the largest aspect of the event. SXSW, effectively a trade show for industry and media members, has been around since 1987 and has historically been primarily a music event where labels showcase their acts and young bands seek their big break. Many others will be there, too, often promoting new projects, including Jay-Z, Willem Dafoe (“The Hunter”), Richard Linklater and Jack Black (“Bernie”), Jack White, Joss Whedon (“The Cabin in the Woods”), Lena Dunham and Judd Apatow (HBO’s “Girls”), comedy podcast star Marc Maron, the Magnetic Fields and a few thousand more. (NPR Music and will live stream the event.) Interactive, though, will have its own rock stars, including Napster co-founder Sean Parker (famously portrayed by Justin Timberlake in “The Social Network”). None will be bigger than Bruce Springsteen, this year’s music keynote speaker. ![]() She’s a “cyborg anthropologist” who studies the relationship between humans and machines, and founded the location-sharing platform .Įach realm of SXSW will have its own superstars. “It’s like stepping into a temporary world for one week where you’re maybe two or three or five years in the future,” says Amber Case, who’ll be making her fourth trip to SXSW as a keynote speaker for Interactive. machine competitions that pit algorithms against curators. There will be hundreds of panel discussions, countless predictions and even man vs. It’s a place where the question is always “what’s next” and one has the impression of meandering hordes traipsing the streets of Austin searching for answers to a confusing and ever-evolving media landscape. ![]()
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