South by Southwest Sydney (SXSW Sydney) has revealed the line-up for its 2025 Screen industry program, with a slate of international and Australian names set to lead talks, mentorships and live commentary sessions.
Joining previously announced keynote speaker Paul Feig (Bridesmaids) are Hollywood costume designer Kym Barret (The Matrix), filmmaker Michael Shanks (Together), producer Liz Watts (The King), showrunner Tony Ayres (Stateless), Whitney Fuller from Jordan Peele’s Monkeypaw Productions, Alexandra Fredericks from Oscilloscope, Joe Yanick from Yellow Veil Pictures, and Lisa Dreyer from the US genre showcase Fantastic Festival.
According to organisers, this year’s program will cover everything from VFX training to film acquisitions, programming, and the essentials of screen business, alongside broader questions of what defines an Australian story and how creators can connect with global markets.
SXSW Sydney: quick links
SXSW Sydney Screen Festival panels and sessions
Several sessions will drill into specific sectors of the industry. Blood, Sweat & Tears: The Indie Horror Producer’s Survival Guide will see Jill Kingston (Pacific Shadow Pictures), Enzo Tedeschi (Deadhouse Films), Kate Separovich (Lake Martin Films) and Helen Tuck (Deadhouse Films) share lessons from producing horror on a shoestring.
So You Want to Move to LA will provide frank advice from Carmen Knox (Invention Studios) and actor Remy Hii on navigating the US industry, while Pitch Please will unpack practical pitching skills with Knox and writer Shanrah Wakefield.
Ayres and Watts will appear together in What is an Australian Story?, a session interrogating what defines local storytelling and which narratives resonate internationally. Yanick and Fredericks will partner on a crash course in acquisitions, and Fuller will contribute to Women in Genre, tackling systemic barriers for women in screen alongside Dreyer, who will also feature in Programming Lens on festival curation.
Social media strategist Rachel Watt will lead Script to Scroll: Social Media 101 for Filmmakers, focusing on building online audiences.
SXSW Sydney screen commentary and workshops
Palace Cinemas will again host SXSW’s Screen Commentary sessions. Barret will revisit her work on The Matrix, analysing costume design choices live as the film plays, while Shanks will break down the production process behind his breakout horror feature Together.
The popular 90 Min Film School also returns, with practitioners Emily Norton (The Music Soups), Kathy Lepan-Walker (Creative Wellbeing Support) and Rodney Bolt (Jorr) providing fast-track advice for emerging filmmakers.
SXSW Sydney’s one-on-one mentorship program will run across the week, with places open to passholders. Sessions are tailored to connect early and mid-career practitioners with established industry figures. Applications are open now, and close on Monday 22 September.
SXSW Sydney overview
Running from 13–19 October, SXSW Sydney 2025 will feature more than 1,600 events, including 400 conference sessions, 150 professional development workshops, 300 music performances, 95 film screenings, 150 games showcases and more than 400 brand activations.
The Screen program will operate as one of the festival’s major hubs, offering networking, training and industry insights.
For more information head to the SXSW Sydney website.
Also on ScreenHub: Paul Feig will headline packed SXSW Sydney 2025 program
SXSW Sydney has confirmed that acclaimed filmmaker and producer Paul Feig will headline the Screen Festival’s 2025 program.
Feig will deliver a keynote address and receive the inaugural Screen Pioneer Award in recognition of his contributions to modern screen culture.
Feig, known for Bridesmaids, Spy, The Heat, Ghostbusters (2016), A Simple Favor, and cult-favourite series Freaks and Geeks, will appear in Sydney this October as part of the festival’s second edition. His keynote will draw from a career spanning decades in film and television, celebrated for witty dialogue, ensemble casts and a consistent focus on underrepresented voices.
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