February 22, 2018

Music Pioneer Lyor Cohen to Keynote SXSW 2018

SXSW is thrilled to host Lyor Cohen as a Keynote Speaker for 2018.

Cohen is currently the Global Head of Music at YouTube and Google where he oversees domestic and international music partnerships as well as artist and label relations. He is also the founder of 300, a music content company that leverages innovative tech to discover, cultivate and promote rising artists with a boutique focus.

He began his career in the mid-80s working as Run-DMC’s road manager at Rush Productions, and within a couple of years his work expanded to include label management duties for partner company Def Jam Recordings. In the early years of his career, Cohen signed rap/hip-hop legends such as Eric B. & Rakim, Slick Rick, De La Soul, and A Tribe Called Quest.

In the 90s, Cohen’s work centered around raising the prestige of Def Jam, and rap/hip-hop in general, by focusing on developing the next generation of music industry leaders while executing a series of successful label mergers for Def Jam. In this period, Cohen worked with a new generation of talent including Jay-Z, DMX, Ja Rule, Ludacris, and Kanye West.

In 1999, the creation of the new Island-Def Jam Music Group expanded his work beyond Def Jam’s hip-hop roots and allowed him to work with artists such as The Killers, Ed Sheeran, Bruno Mars, among others. Since founding 300, Cohen has championed yet another generation of impressive talent such as Young Thug, Fetty Wap, Highly Suspect, Migos, and more.

From brokering Run-DMC’s sneaker deal with Adidas in 1986 (one of the first major commercial deals for a rap artist) to helping usher the music industry into the digital age in his current role at YouTube and Google as the Global Head of Music, Lyor Cohen has been at the forefront of innovation in the music business for three decades.

At SXSW, Cohen will speak about the evolution of the music business and encourage attendees to embrace change and innovation in their respective fields. His Keynote will take place on Wednesday, March 14 in the Austin Convention Center.

Add to your SXSW Schedule

2018 SXSW Keynote, Lyor Cohen – Photo by Noa Griffel

The post Music Pioneer Lyor Cohen to Keynote SXSW 2018 appeared first on SXSW.

Source: SxSW Film

February 22, 2018

25 Years of SXSW Film Festival – Adam Leon

To commemorate the 25th edition of the SXSW Film Festival, we continue our weekly alumni spotlight on careers launched, artists discovered, powerful performances, and more with filmmaker Adam Leon.

Leon’s directorial feature debut Gimme the Loot world premiered at the SXSW Film Festival in 2012 and won the Grand Jury Award for Narrative Competition. Gimme the Loot earned Leon the Independent Spirit Award for “Someone to Watch” and an additional nomination for “Best First Feature” in 2013. Both Gimme the Loot and Leon’s second feature, Tramps are available to view on streaming services.

We are pleased to share his #SXSWFilm25 story with you.

“The team at SXSW were the first people to take a chance on us. There was nothing to sell this movie except the movie itself. It was everyone’s first feature, there was no ‘name’ cast, it’s beyond low budget. We really had nothing going for us. When we were trying to make it, we couldn’t get a meeting – I think we had two in total with anyone associated with the ‘industry’. In one, the person told us to change the lead characters from black to white. In another, the guy told me I should not to make this movie, that it wouldn’t work.

We came to Austin with 18 people, most of us sleeping on floors and couches. We didn’t have agents or distribution. We all smelled pretty bad. And it was a blast. For the first time me and my team could legitimately say that this is what we do. We’re actors and directors and producers. It’s real! We’re in the program guide, we’re on that poster, you can’t take this away from us!

There’s such an energy down there, it sounds corny but it’s a ‘can do’ spirit – ‘Hey, we’re filmmakers’ and you get a ‘Right on!’ instead of an eye roll – everything is just so encouraging, so empowering to do you, to make things they way you want to. Don’t fit in a box, don’t follow this template.

A couple months later we were at Cannes in tuxes, smelling slightly better, with international and U.S. distribution, sales agents, Hollywood agents, multiple publicists. I remember saying to one of my producers, ‘What just happened?’ I’m still not sure but I know it doesn’t happen without the approval from SXSW and attention we got while down there. It started everything for us.

SXSW was the first place to believe in us when we needed it most. They played the movie simply because they liked the movie. It sounds simple, but I know from working in the festival world for years that this is often not the case. I’m so thankful that they have the freedom to do that, to just say, ‘This seems interesting, lets show it.’ Being down there without a doubt changed my life and the lives of so many people I was able to work with. I know we’re all forever grateful.”

See you March!

Take a look at our 2018 SXSW Film Festival Lineup. During the nine days of SXSW, 132 Features will be shown. The full lineup will include 44 films from first-time filmmakers, 86 World Premieres, 11 North American Premieres, and 5 U.S. Premieres.

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and SXSW News for the latest SXSW coverage, announcements, and updates.

Gimme the Loot – Photo by Bradley E. Dugdale III

The post 25 Years of SXSW Film Festival – Adam Leon appeared first on SXSW.

Source: SxSW Film

February 22, 2018

The Rapid Rise of Short Form Documentary Content – 2018 SXSW Programming Trends

Each year, different trends emerge from SXSW programming and act as identifiers for where we’re at and where we’re headed. From the 12 significant trends identified by the SXSW Programming Team for the 2018 event, The Rapid Rise of Short Form Documentary Content explores the emergence of short-form documentaries in today’s cultural and technological landscape. Get to know this trend and related-SXSW sessions below that we think will dominate discussions this March.

The Rapid Rise of Short Form Documentary Content Trend

In the age of internet services and easy access to devices, anyone can generate content. But with so many users producing and self-distributing, this information overload calls for more distribution windows and faster consumption. To meet this demand, short-form documentaries have emerged as a leading genre for indie creators and professionals. But one question remains, in this sea of content how will companies and independent creators compete for recognition and success for their documentaries?

Now more than ever, it’s imperative to know how to navigate the Internet when uploading content. Learn the best strategies for exhibiting your short film online and how film festival regulations come into play in the session Short Films: To Stream or not to Stream, led by Dilcia Barrera of Sundance Film Festival, Jeffrey Bowers of Vimeo, and more. Don’t miss Pamela Torno of ITVS as she moderates a panel of filmmakers diving into the process of creating and maintaining an online presence as a digital documentary storyteller in How Documentaries Can Rise In the Webseries World.

Short form documentary is as useful for media companies as it is for independent creators. Discover how the television news industry is evolving in response to its digital age audience with VMG’s Chris Batty, M Scott Havens of Bloomberg Media, Christy Tanner of CBS News Digital, and Cheddar’s Jon Steinberg in the session Building the Post-Cable Television Network. Be sure to attend the panel Pivoting to Video the Best Way, with speakers Micah Gelman of The Washington Post and Anna Jimenez of Hearst Digital Media, to explore the benefits of investing in a video brand for your company.

Add these sessions to your 2018 SXSW Schedule to learn more about short form documentary as a creative genre and professional strategy. Stay tuned for more programming announcements through March!

The Rapid Rise of Short Form Documentary Content Session Highlights

• Short Films: To Stream or not to Stream
  
• How Documentaries Can Rise In the Webseries World
• Building the Post-Cable Television Network
• Pivoting to Video the Best Way

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Join Us for SXSW 2018

Purchase your SXSW Badge and reserve your hotel today to experience these sessions along with 10 days of screenings, showcases, exhibitions, networking, and more this March 9-18 in Austin, TX. Take the Tracks Quiz to discover which badge will suit your needs.

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Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and SXSW News for the latest SXSW coverage, announcements, and updates.

Teaser Photo by Jon-Shapely

The post The Rapid Rise of Short Form Documentary Content – 2018 SXSW Programming Trends appeared first on SXSW.

Source: SxSW Film