While we all love SXSW for a plethora of reasons that range from the diverse films to the hungover breakfast tacos sought out after a night of premiere parties, industry mixers, and indie shows, the best feeling part by far might simply be stumbling upon a pure, new, raw-voiced film project which feels wholly unique and like something you didn’t ever conceive of existing ever before.
SXSW…
Another SXSW has come and gone, and those who made the trek to Austin, Texas, are likely all quite hungover and ready from gorging on brisket and tacos for a solid week. This year’s SXSW conference was quite unique in several ways, though. It was shorter and more compartmentalized.
Yet for those of us who were there to cover the Film & TV Festival section, it was a very nice return to form…
In this episode of the No Film School Podcast, Ryan Koo and Jourdan Aldredge report from Austin during the 2026 SXSW Film & TV Festival, reflecting on how the event felt different after the convention center overhaul and how the festival’s film and tech worlds collided more directly than ever.
They discuss the growing tension between filmmakers and artificial intelligence, the value of human…
Greg Kwedar is fresh off the Academy Awards, where his film, _Train Dreams_ , received four Oscar nominations, including Best Picture. But he didn’t get to this moment by following a clean, predictable path. His career is full of long gaps, false starts, and financial strain. (Sound familiar?)
Speaking at SXSW, he pulled back the curtain on what that journey actually looks like—not the…
The buzz at this year's SXSW is unmistakable, but while the headlines are all about AI-generated "actors" and text-to-video tools like Sora, the real revolution for those of us in the trenches is happening in a place without all the glitz and glamour: the back office.
At a recent panel titled "Behind the Scenes: Empowering Production with AI Tools," heavy hitters from Amazon MGM…
The "Sundance-to-Streaming" pipeline isn’t just leaking; for most of us, it has completely burst. We’ve all heard the horror stories: a film kills it at a top-tier festival, gets rave reviews, and then... nothing. No seven-figure acquisition, no global theatrical rollout—just a quiet upload to a buried VOD menu.
At this year’s SXSW, the "Niche to Notice" panel brought together the heavy…
The atmosphere at SXSW is always a mix of chaos and creative excitement, but walking into the room with the team behind _Breaking Bad_ and _Better Call Saul_ , that energy shifts into something more profound.
We’re talking about Vince Gilligan, the man who created some of the most iconic (and tragic) characters in modern television. Joining him were folks from Team _Pluribus_ , actor Rhea…
If you aren't thinking about spatial audio as early as your storyboard, you’re leaving half the story on the table. That's a sentiment the "Audible Dimensions" panel made perfectly clear at this year's SXSW.
As filmmakers, we often treat audio as the "last mile" of post-production, but in the world of XR (Extended Reality), VR, and even "spatial cinema" on devices like the Apple Vision Pro…
As filmmakers, we are used to living in the tension between "the way things are" and "the way they could be." But right now, that tension feels more like a fracture. We’re standing at a crossroads where real cameras and real sets are being challenged by algorithms that can conjure reality out of thin air. It’s enough to make any human creator want to crawl into a dark hole and never come…
Will Ropp spent most of the start of his career on the other side of the camera. As an actor, his credits include _The Way Back_ , _The Fallout_ , and _Love, Victor._ These projects put him in rooms with directors like Gavin O'Connor and Megan Park.
But with new and different aspirations in mind, he was definitely paying attention.
Now he's on the other side of the camera. _Brian_ _,_ his…
If you've read my articles on this site at all, you probably know that I think Steven Spielberg is the GOAT. The guy has tackled the ocean, the suburbs, the dinosaur age, and the beaches of Normandy.
And during all of that, there's been one genre he has not explored. One that we saw hints of in _The Fabelmans_ and one that's shaped his entire career: the Western.
No Film School was at SXSW…
I was scrolling TikTok recently when I came across a filmmaking account. The user had posted some unfavorable feedback they’d gotten from a professor about their pilot. The professor said, bluntly, “It doesn’t work for me.” They went on, “The characters are one-dimensional, paper-thin,” adding, “If it was absolutely hysterical, that might be all right.”
The next image was a response from the…
There’s a specific kind of madness that sets in when you’re a documentary filmmaker. You start with a pitch, a plan, and a protagonist, but somewhere between "action" and the edit suite, the universe decides to laugh at your outline.
At this year’s SXSW, a panel of three filmmakers shares how they have mastered the art of the pivot: Marq Evans (_Capturing Bigfoot_), Scott Veltri (_The…
The vibe at SXSW this year isn't just about the latest midnight premiere; it’s about the existential hum of the machine. For those of us in the indie scene, the conversation around AI often feels like a choice between becoming a Luddite or a sell-out.
Hosted by our very own GG Hawkins, a panel featuring Lauren Oliver (co-founder of IncanterAI), Shaked Berenson (founder/CEO of Studio Dome),…
With SXSW celebrating the 33rd edition of the SXSW Film & TV Festival in Austin, Texas, we’ve once again put the word out to filmmakers to learn which cameras they used to shoot their selected film and television projects.
As we’ve seen in past years, some familiar names remain the top choices for larger narrative projects and features, with the ARRI ALEXA 35 among the most popular. However,…
We’ve all seen the behind-the-scenes clips of _The Mandalorian_ or _The Batman_. You know the ones: actors standing in a massive glowing circle of LED panels (the "Volume"), looking like they’re on a $200 million playground. For most of us, those images can feel a little alienating. If you’re scraping together a budget for a short or an indie feature, virtual production (VP) often feels like…
At South by Southwest, the energy is usually focused on the "big get"—the distribution deal, the red carpet, the viral moment. But for the independent filmmaker, there is a massive gap between finishing your film and actually getting people to talk about it.
Enter Lisa Trifone. As the founder and CEO of Bright Iris Film Co. and an adjunct professor at DePaul University, Trifone has spent two…
At South by Southwest, the energy is usually focused on the "big get"—the distribution deal, the red carpet, the viral moment. But for the independent filmmaker, there is a massive gap between finishing your film and actually getting people to talk about it.
Enter Lisa Trifone. As the founder and CEO of Bright Iris Film Co. and an adjunct professor at DePaul University, Trifone has spent two…
There is a certain kind of energy that spreads through a room when the person who basically invented the modern blockbuster walks onto a stage. At SXSW this year, that energy was palpable. We were lucky enough to sit in on the keynote conversation between legendary filmmaker Steven Spielberg and Sean Fennessey of _The Big Picture_ podcast.
The auteur discussed his lifelong obsession with…
There is a certain kind of energy that spreads through a room when the person who basically invented the modern blockbuster walks onto a stage. At SXSW this year, that energy was palpable. We were lucky enough to sit in on the keynote conversation between legendary filmmaker Steven Spielberg and Sean Fennessey of _The Big Picture_ podcast.
The auteur discussed his lifelong obsession with…
"We don't often see these complex characters that are not only pregnant, but also have desires, and they have more agency," cinematographer Ksusha Genenfeld told us before SXSW.
That instinct to find and protect the full humanity of a character on screen is important to Genenfeld's approach. The Los Angeles-based DP is a Loyola Marymount grad whose credits span the Shudder horror feature _A…
In this episode of the No Film School Podcast, we dive into the logistics, strategy, and evolving experience of getting into and attending SXSW. GG Hawkins is joined by No Film School Founder Ryan Koo and a panel of SXSW insiders: Claudette Godfrey, Peter Hall, and Francis Román, who share their personal journeys into programming and illuminate the processes behind one of the most significant…