The SXSW Film Festival is set to move online after having its 27th edition canceled by the coronavirus pandemic.
SXSW announced Thursday that it is partnering with Amazon Prime Video to stream as much of its movie lineup as possible for a 10-day period in the U.S.
The online festival, called "Prime Video presents the SXSW 2020 Film Festival Collection," will be free to viewers with or without an Amazon Prime membership. All that is needed is a free Amazon account.
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South by Southwest organizers have worked frantically to salvage what they could of the Austin, Texas, festival and bring attention to the many films that had been planning to premiere there. SXSW, which was scheduled to run March 13 through 22, last week announced awards for its competition categories anyway.
Individual films will choose whether they want to opt into the 10-day “SXSW 2020 Film Festival Collection” on Amazon. Don't count on movies acquired by Netflix, for example, to participate.
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But for the filmmakers that do join in, the digital platform could offer a measure of solace for their missed SXSW premiere, and all the promotional benefit that a major festival entails. Filmmakers who participate will receive a screening fee.
“Ever since SXSW was canceled 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,” Janet Pierson, director of film at SXSW, said in a statement. “We’re inspired by the adaptability and resilience of the film community as it searches for creative solutions in this unprecedented crisis."
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The launch date is yet to be announced, but SXSW and Prime Video are aiming to hold the 10-day online event in late April.
Jennifer Salke, head of Amazon Studios, said she hopes the online SXSW "can help give back some of that experience, and showcase artists and films that audiences might otherwise not have had the chance to see.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report