WILL ROOSE, Staff Writer—
The South by Southwest Festival took place in Austin, Texas this past month, which I was able to attend while representing Denison as a cinema student. This event was a celebration of film as both an art and unifier, bringing together artists, crew, scholars, and students from all over the world. Having the privilege to ask professionals about questions in the industry was invaluable, and by the time the week ended, I didn’t want to leave. Panels regarding the future of streaming, immersing audiences and editing during the pandemic were fascinating to listen to, while actors such as Nicolas Cage, Michelle Yeoh, Sandra Bullock and Daniel Radcliffe took to the stage of the legendary Paramount Theater to premiere films such as The Lost City, The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, and Everything Everywhere all at Once.
I was able to talk to Frederick Nuti, co-host of Knight Light, a podcast for fans of the horror genre, and a press member for the festival. When I asked him about his experience doing press, he told me, “It was a surreal experience, and I was telling all my friends because everybody was asking me when I got back ‘how was it’? It’s hard to articulate into words. It was the best week of my life. To say that, it doesn’t hold a lot of weight, but in reality, it does. There was a lot of imposter syndrome, I couldn’t believe I was here. I’ve been covering film festivals for about two years, which is still pretty recent, but everything has been virutal because of the pandmeic. This was my first time going in-person to a film festival which has been a dream come true even as a regular guest, let alone as press.”
I was also able to meet some of the critic team at Cinema Blend, one of the most popular entertainment news outlets, and it was fascinating to hear about the approach to these events from a perspective of criticism. During each premiere, the directors and crew seemed to become incredibly emotional, and repeatedly thanked the audience for being here and keeping the theatrical experience alive after Covid-19 disrupted the market for the last two years. Seeing 14 films with multiple panels may seem like alot to some, but for me, all I could feel was gratitude being surrounded by fellow students and people who have a passion for the filmmaking process.