2025 SXSW

SXSW 2025: Festival Format & Highlights

Mission & Vision

Mission: “To help creative people achieve their goals.” SXSW fosters environments for engaging, thought?provoking conversations and experiences that empower creators across disciplines

Vision and Values: Through its CSR, DEI, and Pride councils, SXSW aims to drive innovation and change beyond the festival, fostering community inclusion, equity, and long term impact via creative collaboration

Festival Format & Scope

March 7 – Opening Day: Conference launch and early film previews

March 8–9 – Panels, keynotes, and free community concerts

March 10–15 – Music Festival showcases and Film & TV premieres

March 11–14 – Rolling Stone Future of Music showcase

March 15 – Final performances and festival closing events

SXSW utilizes a wide array of venues across Austin to accommodate its diverse programming, ranging from large-scale events to intimate gatherings
.
Main hub

Austin Convention Center: This serves as the central location for the festival, hosting a variety of conferences, exhibitions, and musical performances. Note that the Convention Center will undergo major redevelopment after SXSW 2025.

Additional venues

Parlor Room
Clive Bar
Paramount Theatre
SXSW Center
Assembly Hall
Barton Creek Square
Inn Cahoots
Wanderlust Wine Co. – Downtown
Distribution Hall
Industry east side
Moonshine Grill
The Thompson hotel Austin
ZACH Theatre
SXSW Film & TV Theater at Hyatt Regency
Rollins Theatre at The Long Center
Alamo Lamar
Violet Crown Cinema
AFS Cinema (Satellite Venue)
Fairmont (XR Headquarters)
Hilton Austin Downtown

These venues host events across the various facets of SXSW, including music, film, comedy, and interactive programming.

Conference

SXSW 2025 featured 23 official conference tracks, covering a wide spectrum of innovation, creativity, technology, public policy, and culture. Tracks included:

2050 (big-picture futurism: quantum computing, space, robotics)

Advertising & Brand Experience

Artificial Intelligence

Climate & Sustainability

Creating Film & TV

Creator Economy

Culture

Design

Energy

Fashion & Beauty

Film & TV Industry

Food

Game Industry

Government & Civic Engagement

Health & MedTech

Music & Tech

Music Industry

Psychedelics

Startups

Tech Industry

Transportation

Workplace

XR (Extended Reality)

Film & TV Festival

The 2025 Film & TV Festival featured a dynamic lineup of premieres, screenings, and immersive storytelling experiences:
By the Numbers

114 feature films, including 93 world premieres

57 short films

19 music videos

31 XR experiences (15 in competition, 16 in spotlight)

17 TV projects, including premieres, spotlight showcases, and independent pilots

Opening Night

Feature Film: Another Simple Favor (dir. Paul Feig, starring Anna Kendrick)

TV Premiere: The Studio (Seth Rogen & Evan Goldberg, Apple TV+)

Closing Night

On Swift Horses (dir. Daniel Minahan), starring Daisy Edgar-Jones, Jacob Elordi, Will Poulter, and more

Notable Premieres & Audience Buzz

Ash (dir. Flying Lotus) – Sci-fi thriller starring Eiza González and Aaron Paul

Death of a Unicorn – Horror-comedy with Paul Rudd and Jenna Ortega; Rudd praised Ortega’s performance as a highlight of his SXSW experience

The True Beauty of Being Bitten by a Tick (dir. Pete Ohs) – Indie folk-horror hybrid

The Python Hunt (dir. Xander Robin) – Award-winning documentary exploring invasive species in Florida

Awards & Winners
Feature Film Awards (Jury)

Narrative Feature Grand Jury Prize: Slanted (dir. Amy Wang)

Special Jury Awards: The Python Hunt and Remaining Native

Audience Awards

Headliner: The Accountant 2 (dir. Gavin O’Connor, starring Ben Affleck)

Narrative Feature: Fantasy Life (dir. Matthew Shear)

Documentary Feature: Remaining Native (dir. Paige Bethmann)

Narrative Spotlight: The Baltimorons (dir. Jay Duplass)

Documentary Spotlight: Luv Ya, Bum! (dirs. Sam Wainwright Douglas & David Hartstein)

Midnighter: Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie (dir. Matt Johnson)

Visions: Ghost Boy (dir. Rodney Ascher)

Global: Corina (dir. Urzula Barba Hopfner)

24 Beats Per Second: Selena y Los Dinos (dir. Isabel Castro)

Festival Favorite: Deaf President Now! (dirs. Nyle DiMarco & Davis Guggenheim)

TV & XR Audience Awards

TV Premiere: Spy High

TV Spotlight: Mix Tape

Independent Pilot: Bulldozer

XR Competition: Face Jumping (Danny Cannizzaro & Samantha Gorman)

XR Spotlight: Resolution: A Cinephonic Rhapsody for the Soul (Scott Berman & Ryan Hartsell)

Music Festival

The 2025 SXSW Music Festival featured approximately 1,015 showcasing acts, continuing a gradual decline from previous years (around 1,200 in 2024, and over 2,000 in the mid 2010s).

Featured performers included a blend of legacy, rising, and international artists such as:

Ginuwine

Passion Pit

Voxtrot

Claire Rosinkranz

Calle 24

Confidence Man

Z-Ro

International Spotlight: Japan Nite, now rebranded as Korea Spotlight, showcased emerging and established Korean pop and indie acts.

Additional Festival Features

Comedy Showcases

Immersive Brand Activations

Interactive Exhibitions

Industry Awards Ceremonies

Featured Speaker Sessions

SXSW 2025 featured high-profile thinkers, creatives, and industry leaders shaping the cultural, technological, and entrepreneurial landscapes:

Cristiano Amon (CEO, Qualcomm): Connectivity and the future of global tech

Lidiane Jones (CEO, Bumble): Human-centered technology and digital well-being

Niall Firth (MIT Technology Review): “10 Breakthrough Technologies of 2025”

Rishad Tobaccowala & Amy Gallo: The evolving nature of work and tech-human dynamics

Dr. Katharine Hayhoe (The Nature Conservancy): Climate science, policy, and public trust

David Duchovny: Fail Better podcast live, on storytelling and creative identity

Arlan Hamilton (Backstage Capital): Equity in venture capital and startup innovation

Donald Passman: Music rights, legal insights, and branding in conversation with:

Candace Parker (WNBA): Athlete branding, leadership, and cultural influence

Pedro Pascal, Bella Ramsey, Craig Mazin & Neil Druckmann: The Last of Us Season 2 preview

Molly White: Speaking Truth to Crypto Power – on regulation and transparency

Robert Rodriguez: The Future of Action Filmmaking – storytelling and innovation

Plus: Clara Clinton, Scott Galloway, Cherie Hu, Rohit Bhargava, and more

Here is a full schedule listing of 2025 SXSW