Amazon Prime Video and SXSW are teaming up to launch “Prime Video presents the SXSW 2020 Film Festival Collection,” where titles from the canceled SXSW Film Festival will be streamed for free for 10 days.
“Prime Video presents the SXSW 2020 Film Festival Collection” offers filmmakers and option to take part in the online festival, which will be available to audiences around the world, with or without an Amazon Prime membership.
Filmmakers who do decide to participate will receive a screening fee for streaming their film over the 10-day period. No specific launch date has been set yet, but both sides are looking at an April date.
“We’re honored to be able to provide a space for the SXSW filmmakers to share their hard work and passion with audiences for the first time,” Jennifer Salke, Head of Amazon Studios, said in a statement. “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. We’re inspired by the adaptability and resilience of the film community as it searches for creative solutions in this unprecedented crisis.”
On March 6, the festival was canceled due to growing concerns over the coronavirus. Austin Mayor Steve Adler had declared a “state of emergency” in the city. The festival was set to run from March 13 to March 20 in Austin, Texas. Upon the cancelation, one third of full-time staff members were laid off, and many filmmakers who were banking on the exposure of SXSW were left without premieres and with uncertainty of how people would see their film.