At this year’s edition of SXSW (which kicks off March 8, 2019, in Austin, Texas), the spheres of music, film, and interactive shall convene at Canada House! For the very first time at SXSW, Canada House will encompass a multitude of Canadian initiatives from the music, interactive, film & TV industries, and is sure to be both a quiet landing pad and a bustling social centre, with panels, networking opportunities, live music showcases, and late-night DJ sets. (Canada House will be at Bungalow, 92 Rainey Street, from March 10 to 14.)
With 432,500 participants from 102 countries at last year’s SXSW, Canada’s got SXSW fever when it comes to the export and outreach of our diverse creative ecosystem from coast to coast, whether it be music, film, tech, or otherwise. With film screenings, musical showcases, and more, we’re ready to promote our awesome content and give our homegrown talents the chance to shake hands (and even show off a bit) at our networking events, meetups, and panels presented by our principal partners CIMA, CBC, Export Quebec, Tourism Vancouver, Government of Canada, BreakOut West, MediaOne and a multitude of other important collaborators.
Here’s your sneak peek at some of the Canadian features being showcased at the SXSW Film Festival, including three world premieres:
Directed by Toronto-based filmmaker Ricky Tollman, the drama Run This Town will have its world premiere in SXSW’s Narrative Spotlight section. With Canada’s Scott Speedman, Nina Dobrev, and Mena Massoud among its stars, this Canada-U.S. coproduction is about a young reporter who tries to expose a political scandal.
Making its world premiere in the Visions section is Grace Glowicki’s first directorial feature. Starring Glowicki and Ben Petrie, Tito brings us into the world of a man who makes friends with an intruder to save himself from another threat. (Glowicki previously starred alongside Petrie in his short Her Friend Adam and won the Short Film Special Jury Award for Outstanding Performance at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival.)
Canada’s third world premiere is right at home in SXSW’s 24 Beats Per Second section: Brent Hodge’s documentary Who Let The Dogs Out tells the tale behind the rap song of the same name. Also in this section is Ron Mann’s beautiful & unique doc, Carmine Street Guitars, which premiered at last year’s prestigious Venice International Film Festival, and covers five days in the life of the fabled Greenwich Village guitar store. In the Documentary Feature Competition, we’re proud to be represented by the Canadian coproduction Stuffed, by Erin Derham.
Plus, a special mention goes out to Canadian filmmaker Stella Meghie for her U.S.-produced comedy The Weekend. Screening in Festival Favorites, the feature is about a comedian who finds herself on a weekend getaway with her ex and his new flame. The Weekend premiered at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival.
Whether you’re a Canuck attending SXSW or an international partner (or potential partner!) Canada House is your rendezvous with all spheres of Canadian creativity and innovation, where you will have the opportunity to meet with our amazing partners such as CIMA, CBC, Export Québec, Tourism Vancouver, Government of Canada, MediaOne, Vancouver AR/VR, Secret Location/EOne, FMC, Shaftesbury, Creative Labs, Air Commune, Boite Interactive, Ethical Profiling, Solotech, Stingray Digital, Locketgo, Mangrove, Tribu Experientiel, BreakOut West, Creative BC, Ontario Creates, Factor, Socan, Creative Sask, Sask Music and Manitoba Film and Music.
