Amazon Prime Video teams up with SXSW to hold online film festival

The online event will support filmmakers affected by SXSW's cancellation

Amazon Prime Video has teamed up with SXSW to launch a new online film festival.

The two are joining forces to launch ‘Prime Video presents the SXSW 2020 Film Festival Collection’ after the SXSW conference and festival was cancelled last month due to the ongoing coronavirus crisis.

The event offers filmmakers who were part of the 2020 SXSW Film Festival line-up an invitation to take part, with the online festival set to appear on Prime Video in the US for 10 days.

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The event will take place in front of the paywall and will be free to all audiences. Details about when the online event will take place will emerge soon, but it is expected to be “a late April date” according to a press release. All filmmakers who choose to take part will receive a streaming fee.

SXSW 2015
SXSW 2015. CREDIT: Getty Images

In a statement, Jennifer Salke, Head of Amazon Studios, said: “We’re honoured to be able to provide a space for the SXSW filmmakers to share their hard work and passion with audiences for the first time.

“It’s been a privilege collaborating with Janet Pierson and the SXSW team to bring these diverse and inspiring films to viewers around the country. 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 artists and films that audiences might otherwise not have had the chance to see.”

Janet Pierson, Director of Film at SXSW added: “Ever since SXSW was cancelled by the City of Austin, we’ve been focused on how we could help the incredible films and filmmakers in the SXSW 2020 Film Festival lineup. 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.

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“We’re inspired by the adaptability and resilience of the film community as it searches for creative solutions in this unprecedented crisis.”

The festival was expected to deliver several hundred million dollars to the local economy in Austin.

It was revealed in March that fans who bought SXSW tickets would not be getting a refund. The 2020 edition was officially cancelled by the city of Austin on March 6.

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