SXSW Sessions

Michael Dell and Jim Breyer are pioneers in their fields. In this conversation, they will reflect on their past success, goals for the future, and emerging technology opportunities in Austin. Michael is Chairman and CEO of Dell Technologies, the Founder of MSD Capital, and the Co-Founder of the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation. Michael is also the author of two books, Direct from Dell and Play Nice But Win. Jim is the Founder and CEO of Breyer Capital, a venture capital firm based in Austin, TX. Jim has as invested in and/or served on the board of companies like Dell, 21st Century Fox, Etsy, Facebook, Spotify, Marvel Entertainment, Wal-Mart, Blackstone, and MSDAU (Michael’s SPAC). Starting in 2015, Jim has developed a deep personal and investment interest in AI and quantum technology.

Join us for a conversation with Academy Award winning actor Ethan Hawke and Treefort Media founder Kelly Garner as they discuss Treefort’s Audible Original podcast series FISHPRIEST. In this SXSW Session, Ethan and Kelly discuss the making of the audio drama, including the inspiration for this gritty, scripted crime story and its unique soundscape. Set in 1993, Tommy “Fishpriest” Barth (Hawke) is a bounty hunter and former undercover cop in the Bronx — and just when he thinks he’s pulling his life back together, a dangerous crime syndicate reappears and threatens to tear his life and his city apart. The series is created and written by Mike Batistick. Panel moderator: Brittany Jones-Cooper.

Gen Z has created a seismic shift in the way we consume, communicate and transact, forcing traditional media and entertainment companies to completely rethink the way they conduct business. With its deep roots in gaming and known for its loyal Gen Z fanbase, FaZe Clan recognized early on that gaming was a dominant entertainment and cultural driver for this generation. The company has also been at the forefront of the booming creator economy, establishing a community around gaming and youth culture. CEO Lee Trink dives deep with Axios media reporter, Sara Fischer on how to reimagine media and entertainment for Gen Z and his vision for becoming a leading modern media platform.

Imagine if you could push the boundaries of what’s possible, where you’re inside a world making meaningful choices that push creativity and innovation beyond undiscovered boundaries. Join Vicki Dobbs Beck, VP, Immersive Content Innovation at ILMxLAB, Lucasfilm’s award-winning immersive entertainment studio and connected experiences innovator Val Vacante in a discussion on intrapreneurship, resilience, the importance of creativity and lessons learned when pioneering the future. Hear real-world examples behind some of their most beloved experiments, innovations and award-winning work with fresh perspectives on what it takes to innovate, the impact of the ever-evolving emerging technology landscape and how next generation connected experiences will be powered through choice and participation.

Entrepreneurs are everywhere today, but opportunity isn’t. In part, this is because many founders have historically had little access to venture capital, experienced mentors, and pools of talent. Although the situation is slowly improving, new research shows VCs still mostly back founders from their own networks. Techstars CEO Maelle Gavet argues that the only way to fix this is for investors to adapt to undiscovered founders’ circumstances. From tailoring accelerator programs to skeptical, hard-to-access communities, to supporting people who may not have the network, capital or operational idea to start a business, and developing older talent – all too often dismissed as ‘past it’ by investors – Gavet reveals what flies and what fails when bridging the founder opportunity gap.

The State of Texas recently announced its intention to try to investigate and potentially take transgender children away from their parents, and block them from lifesaving healthcare. CPS has started to go into families’ homes. This is part of a coordinated national effort to erase LGBTQ people from classrooms, sports, daily life, and their own families. A panel of activists and Texans living through these attacks will discuss why this is happening and how anyone can help build a world where transgender people are safe and able to be themselves.

As gamers, you want to be immersed. In the sights, the sounds, the action. You want to deeply experience the game, not just as an observer, but as the main character. Technology and gaming companies are coming together like never before, innovating to level up the action in new ways and keep you on the leader board. Join gaming expert and tech influencer Kate Yeager as she sits down with Don McGuire, chief marketing officer, Qualcomm Inc., and Craig Levine, co-CEO, ESL Gaming, as they discuss the metaverse, esports, and the future of new and premium gaming experiences.

Learn how companies such as Amazon and Google use purposeful constraints to prime and channel innovation. This session will teach you how, and to what, you should be saying “no” to in order to focus your time, influence and resources on what matters to you most. You will learn how to save space for inspiration so that you can engineer serendipity and creativity with a fraction of the effort and resources. You will learn to confidently seek out and say “yes” to the right things centered around your values and talents and unlock untapped abilities within yourself. You will leave this session feeling empowered with a playbook for how to get what you want out of your life and career.

In our dramatically changed world, accessibility for all is crucial to the survival of filmmaking. Kicking the doors wide open brings much-needed oxygen to the greenlighting process. What if we went against the grain of the quick-to-market blockchain hype and made talent discovery a non-profit mission? This conversation between filmmakers Roman Coppola, Tiffany Lin, tech visionary Leo Matchett and entertainment lawyer Barbara Bruni investigates how film can thrive by taking it outside board rooms and into the hands of the people who watch and love them.  Co-founded by Coppola, Matchett and American Zoetrope’s VP of Production Michael Musante, Decentralized Pictures (DCP) fuels the next generation of independent filmmakers as a 501(c)(3) non-profit. Tiffany Lin is the winner of DCP’s beta test among recent USC graduates.

A conversation between musical visionaries Brian Eno and Beatie Wolfe about how art can play a vital role in response to the climate emergency, with Brian sharing his music industry charity EarthPercent and Beatie sharing 'From Green to Red,' an environmental protest piece built using 800,000 years of NASA data to visualise rising CO2 levels.