The week-long creativity festival, South by Southwest (SXSW), is breaking ground in Sydney this year. Traditionally held in Austin, Texas, this October will see a second 2023 outing for the annual event featuring a stellar line-up of headline speakers.
With over 1,000 events and experiences to explore Game Crater has you covered when it comes to staying informed on SXSW Sydney.
What Can You Expect at SXSW Sydney 2023?
SXSW Sydney Conference will consist of Music, Games, and Screen Festivals and a Tech and Innovation Expo. This comes out to over 700 speakers, 300 panels and sessions, and 400 artist performances.
Attendees can partake in hands-on workshops, mentoring sessions, galleries, performance spaces and so much more. Running from the 15th to the 22nd of October, SXSW Sydney will have various activities spanning a multitude of days.
- 15-19 Oct: Tech & Innovation industry networking events and parties
- 15-21 Oct: SXSW Sydney 2023 Screen Festival
- 16-19 Oct: Screen & Games industry networking events and parties
- 16-21 Oct: Creative industries networking events and parties
- 16-21 Oct: Conference
- 18-19 Oct: SXSW Sydney Pitch
- 18-21 Oct: Tech & Innovation Expo, incl. Startup Village
- 18-21 Oct: SXSW Sydney 2023 Music Festival
- 18-21 Oct: Music industry networking events and parties
- 18-21 Oct: Tech & Innovation Expo, incl. XR showcases
Discussions will cover a number of topics ranging from “Death and dying in video games” to “When music videos meet AI”. The following list includes some of the recently announced sessions decided partially by vote.
- Immersive Audio – The Future of Entertainment
- Hip-Hop: How A Generation Is Changing The World
- Asian Creators Index: The Most Exciting Names You’ve Never Heard
- Question Everything LIVE
- Unleashing The Power of Storytelling to Ignite Indigenous Leadership
- The Science of Sync: Music in Advertising
- Yarning Strong – Songlines: The Intersection of Music, Creativity and Culture
- What’s Next in Gaming Innovation?
- The New Playbook for Building Iconic Brands
Speakers
Additionally, SXSW Sydney has recently announced Paul Tollett (Coachella CEO), Tan France (Queer Eye), Cal Henderson (Slack Co-Founder), and Amy Webb (AI expert) will be headlining the event.
Games
For you hungry gamers out there, SXSW Sydney will feature a showcase of 150 indie games coming from 12 confirmed countries. Devs interested in making a submission to the showcase have until 16 August before submissions close. Best of all, submitting a game is absolutely free.
Fortress Sydney will be hosting launches, parties Awards Night, and other special programs. Notable speakers and other attendees include Riot Games, Raw Fury, Team 17, Kepler Interactive & Kowloon Nights, and Invest South Australia among others.
Rounding out the experience are various panels, sessions, investment meets, a dedicated tabletop convention, and the now sold-out Intel Extreme Masters.
Screen
This Film and TV Festival consists of free outdoor screenings, red-carpet premieres, features, shorts, TV premieres, music videos, and a competition. Currently listed screenings include the following:
- Anita (US): About Rolling Stones Muse Anita Pallenberg
- Cypher (US): A fictional pseudo-music documentary about the artist Tierra Whack
- Gagaland (CN): A rags-to-riches, boy-meets-girl story, set against a viral Chinese dance craze flooding streets and social media feeds
- Jamojaya (US): Indonesian rap star Brian Imanuel (Rich Brian) stars as an up-and-coming musician
- Plastic (JP): Teenagers Juna and Ibuki set out to find the psychedelic rock band Exne Kedy
- Knit’s Island (FR): ‘DayZ’ is a survivalist fiction in the form of a videogame. Knit’s Island documents some of the 963 hours the directors spent in there in an at times unsettling blurring of the real and the virtual
- The Last Year of Darkness (US/CN): Bass-heavy and neon-colored portrait of alternative Chinese youth
- You’ll Never Find Me (AU): A lonely mobile home resident has an unexpected visitor on the night of a relentless thunderstorm
- Toky Uber Blues (JP): An in-debt graduate Film Student turns to Uber driving to make ends meet.
Music
Expect an absolutely massive display featuring over 100 acts from across the globe. Confirmed artists include:
- Australia: 1tbsp, Alex Mather, Alter Boy, Andrew Gurruwiwi Band, Ashli, Babitha, Baby Cool, BARKAA, bella amor, BESTIES, Big Words, Caitlin Harnett & The Pony Boys, Chanel Loren, Charley, Darlinghurst, Dean Brady, Death by Denim, DICE, dust, Dylan Atlantis, Elle Shimada, FRIDAY*, Girl and Girl, GO-JO, Grievous Bodily Calm, Gut Health, IJALE, Isaac Puerile, Kobie Dee, Mali Jo$e, Mia Wray, Mi-Kaisha, Mikayla Pasterfield, Milku, Miss Kaninna, Mitch Santiago, Nick Ward, PANIA, Phoebe Go, POOKIE, Rum Jungle, Shady Nasty, Skeleton, STUMPS, South Summit, SUPEREGO, Teenage Joans, Trophie, Tulliah, Ūla, Velvet Trip, Vv Pete, WILDFIRE MANWURRK
- New Zealand: 0800, 33 Below, ASHY, Daily J, Fazerdaze, Hanbee, Hans., JessB, Jujulipps, Mazbou Q, MELOWDOWNZ, Mim Jensen, Miss June, Molly Payton, Mousey, Paige, PARK RD, Proteins of Magic, RIIKI REID, Soaked Oats, There’s a Tuesday, WHOSHOTSCOTT
- South Korea: ADOY, Hypnosis Therapy, Lil Cherry & GOLDBUDDA
- Japan: CHAMELEON LIME WHOOPIEPIE, Otoboke Beaver
- Indonesia: G.A.C., Grrl Gang, Isyana Sarasvati
- Malaysia: Lunadira
- UK: Connie Constance, LosBitchos, Nuha Ruby Ra, Sorry, SixSaidIt
- USA: almost monday, Flyana Boss, redveil, Rett Smith, Wallice
- Canada: EKKSTACY, Hotel Mira
How To Attend SXSW Sydney 2023
To gain access to the event, aspiring attendees will need to purchase the corresponding Industry badge for Primary Access to that industry. Doing so, will provide secondary access to the other industry events.
Industry badges are currently priced at AUD$1095, but will eventually rise to AUD$1295 leading up to the event. Alternatively, a Platinum badge offering Primary Access to all events including exclusive VIP meet-ups and invitations is AUD$1495, with an eventual price of AUD$1895.