SXSW is teaming up with Amazon in order to stream featured movies from the former’s 2020 lineup exclusively on the latter’s Prime Video service for a period of 10 days. Access to the films will be made available free of charge.
Officially billed as Prime Video presents the SXSW 2020 Film Festival Collection, the now-online film festival was formally announced by SXSW through its website. As mentioned earlier, the event is freely accessible by any Amazon account holder, regardless of whether they have a Prime subscription or not.
Thrilled to share this with everyone, and we can’t wait to honor the work of talented #SXSW 2020 filmmakers. Big thanks to @PrimeVideo for the collaboration! https://t.co/QSUy52gmXZ
— SXSW (@sxsw) April 2, 2020
Janet Pierson, the Director of Film at SXSW, said:
“We were delighted when Amazon Prime Video offered to host an online film festival, and jumped at the opportunity to connect their audiences to our filmmakers. We’re inspired by the adaptability and resilience of the film community as it searches for creative solutions in this unprecedented crisis.”
Rebounding from an earlier cancellation
The threat of the coronavirus has pretty much waylaid dozens of big events scheduled for this year. These include GDC 2020, E3 2020, Consensus 2020, and of course, this year’s SXSW Conference and Festivals in Austin, Texas.
SXSW’s events typically attract thousands of attendees every year, but less than a month ago, Austin had to cancel SXSW 2020 due to concerns over COVID-19.
An Update on SXSW 2020. Please read our full statement here: https://t.co/P56nF8KFmE pic.twitter.com/ouJPKM9GNy
— SXSW (@sxsw) March 6, 2020
For the filmmakers slated to be featured this year, this meant that the debuts of the movies they submitted also had to be cancelled.
This time, however, they get another chance. According to the SXSW press release, the event will offer the filmmakers an invitation to opt in to take part in the online film festival.
As for those who do decide to participate, they will be getting a screening fee for agreeing to have their movie made available for streaming within the 10-day period.
So when exactly will the online film festival happen? For the record, there is no official date yet, but Amazon and SXSW are looking to launch before the end of this month.
COVID-19 continues to affect every sector, including the film industry, which continues to expect decreased attendance in cinemas and festivals across the country in the weeks or even months to come.
Images courtesy of SXSW
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