Director Jenkins to speak at SXSW ’18
Poet Wade, writer Perel, tech guru Hurley to join ‘Moonlight’ helmer.
South by Southwest 2018 is still eight months away, but that hasn’t stopped the event’s organizers from rolling out an initial list of keynote and featured speakers.
Keynotes for next year include film writer/director Barry Jenkins, whose credits include “Moonlight” and “Medicine for Melancholy”; psychotherapist and author Esther Perel; and William “Whurley” Hurley, an Austin-based tech entrepreneur.
“We are overjoyed to invite Barry Jenkins back to SXSW as a film keynote having presented the world premiere of his first feature, ‘Medicine for Melancholy,’ in 2008,” Janet Pierson, SXSW’s director of film, said in a written
statement. “‘Moonlight’ is a magnificent piece of work, transcendent and made on his own terms. We couldn’t be happier for his success and to have this remarkable artist with such a generous soul return to SXSW.”
The first batch of featured speakers includes Moon Express CEO Bob Richards; Kaiser Permanente CEO Bernard J. Tyson; Empowering a Billion Women by 2020 CEO Ingrid Vanderveldt; artist and poet Cleo Wade; and Future Today Institute founder Amy Webb.
“SXSW has become a premier destination for innovation and creative discovery,” Hugh Forrest, the festival’s chief programming officer, said. “We’re pleased to begin our 2018 season with strong programming that represents a diverse and talented group of pioneers in the technology, social sciences, health care and entertainment industries. The depth and breadth of knowledge these speakers bring to the event is an excellent indicator that this is going to be one of our best years ever.”
Registration for SXSW 2018 kicks off Aug. 1.
For the first time, SXSW last year combined some of its event structures, no longer clearly separating SXSW Interactive from SXSW Film and Music.
In all, SXSW said about 421,900 people participated in SXSW 2017, with 70,696 attending its Interactive, Film and Music conferences for 2017.