Courtesy: SXSW.com
Excitement ramps up for the SXSW annual conference and festivals Panel Picker with community voting, currently running through August 21, prior to the March 2023 main event. During polling, program users ‘vote up’ or ‘vote down,’ choosing their preferences for the panels they most want to see in Austin, TX next year, making up 30% of the SXSW Conference board’s programming decision. Panels are then examined by SXSW staff and the advisory board before they make their final decisions this winter.
SXSW 2023 will offer more unique opportunities for networking, learning, brainstorming, and career-enhancing connections than ever before.
Panel Picker community voting lets the public assist in deciding topics and speakers they most want to see before dropping money on tickets. Prospective speakers submit their session ideas to PanelPicker, then the community, SXSW Advisory Board and SXSW staff choose the best proposals.
The best proposals embrace future change, comment on cultural touchstones and provide solutions to common problems. Read on for a glimpse of some of this year’s panel proposals that offer insight and innovation in the worlds of advertising, music, and film:
Audiences & Musicians Connect Through Web3 Distro
It’s no secret that the music industry has experienced ups and downs when it comes to distribution, ownership and artist compensation. And while A-list artists have been able to speak out against streaming services and their lack of musician-driven business models, most are resigned to accept the status quo of the music industry.
Web3, NFTs and the decentralization of distribution that comes with blockchain technology, allows greater space for community building and a much closer connection between artists and audiences. A panel of emerging experts in the Web3 and music spaces will speak to how the landscape of music rights stands to be dramatically altered through a holistic reframing of a more community-driven approach towards the funding, creation and ownership of music.
Panelists:
Torey Kohara, Chief Brand Officer, Metav3rse
Bianca Bhagat, General Manager, AWAL
Sam Spiegel, Partner/ECD; Artist, Squeak E. Clean Studios; Sam i
Jen Pearce, Founder/CEO, low profile
Decentralized Creative Economy to Empower Artists
While the advent of social media allowed artists of all styles and disciplines to reach global audiences with their work, the murkiness of crediting, ownership and freedom of speech quickly saw artists having their work celebrated–but without proper credit and zero compensation. Enter the blockchain. With a shared ledger that clearly details any changing of ownership, artists are now able to monetize their own work and eliminate the gatekeepers who for so long had made breaking into the space a particular challenge for diverse talent.
A panel of artists across various backgrounds will discuss how this new decentralized landscape allows artists to express their unique creative POVs, connect with like minded communities and even break paradigms in traditional career trajectories.
Panelists:
Bilali Mack, VFX Supervisor, Alkemy X
Bryan Coleman, Digital Artist, n/a
Julian Marshall, Director, Tool of NA
Rachel Wolfson, Senior Reporter, Cointelegraph
From Laundry to Leading; Asian Men in Media
American media often paints an emasculated picture of Asian men: lithe and bookish, usually weak, often the sidekick for another character’s story. These stereotypes stem from prejudices born hundreds of years ago when Asian immigrants took domestic jobs and the government spread propaganda against Asian men to prevent interracial marriage. Eventually, these demeaning lies emerged in films and television, except for specific martial arts-oriented movies.
Hollywood actors and production experts will discuss which stereotypes continue to plague the industry and how writers, producers, and studios can fight outdated stereotypes and flip the script on the obsolete rules of masculinity.
Panelists:
Sherry Cola, Comedian, Actress, Sherry Cola
Eddie Liu, Actor, Eddie Liu
Kevin Kreider, Founder/CEO, Sans Beverage Inc. and Taejin Entertainment LLC
Vincent Lin, Founder, Director, Valiant Pictures
Improving LatinX Representation in Media Today
The latest U.S. census revealed that LatinX individuals made up 18.7% of the population, yet LatinX actors hold a scant 6.2% and 5.3% of roles respectively, according to research by USC’s “Inequality in 1,300 Films” report and UCLA’s “Hollywood Diversity Report.” Meanwhile, even LatinX-owned companies in advertising and film struggle to implement on-set teams, writers, focus groups, and other roles behind the camera. As the LatinX viewing audience flourishes, why does the number of LatinX talent on and off sets flounder? How can we improve both the volume and quality of LatinX representation in the media today?
Experts in production, advertising, television, and film will explore how LatinX individuals are represented in traditional media roles and how they can be immediately improved.
Panelists:
Andres Rojas, Executive Producer, Team Bubbly
Carla Eboli, Executive Vice President, Energy BBDO
Jon Huertas, Director, Jon Huertas
Rep. Joaquin Castro, Congressman, U.S. House of Representatives
Representation Is Not A Checkbox
Advertising has seen its share of movements in support of diverse representation, from production companies to agencies and brands, and countless pledges to hire women and POC across all leadership levels. But how many of those movements, promises, and accountability measures actually moved the needle? Are women and POC actually earning more advertising jobs…or just being put up for jobs ultimately given to white men? Are women- and/or POC-owned companies sought to help them own their own stories and business, or to check a box?
Leaders in advertising and production will discuss where we are now–post-pandemic and post-many social rights movements in advertising–to call out tokenism and share how diverse individuals can be thoughtfully, and authentically, evaluated for jobs.
Panelists:
Sophie Gold, Founder, Executive Producer, Eleanor
Megan Kelly, Executive Producer, Honor Society
Bernadette Rivero, President/Executive Producer, Cortez Brothers
Jenna Wigman, Vice President/Partner, Press Kitchen
Women Writing Genre and Badass Female Leads
Genre enthusiasts–creators and fans alike–have established affinities for franchises built around certain tropes and character arcs that are usually centered on a male perspective. But with genre content trending in mainstream entertainment, and larger female audiences calling for more representative characters and storylines, how can the space showcase women being as badass as the male leads that came before them?
A group of seasoned genre content female writers will discuss their approach to creating fresh narratives for a continually growing–and diverse–audience that breaks existing paradigms and broaden POVs in the space, and inspire a lineup of more diverse creators for the future.
Panelists:
Samantha Shear, VP, Development, Zoic Pictures
Rammy Park, Writer, Wheel of Time
Melissa Rundle, Writer, Kung Fu
A. C. Bradley, Writer, Mrs. Marvel
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