SXSW has solicited boldface names including Jane Fonda, Demi Moore, Serena Williams, Kiki Palmer and Andy Cohen to give keynote speeches at the annual festival in Austin.
This year it will be held from March 12th to 18th. Among the films scheduled to premiere are the horror comedy “Ready or Not 2: Here I Come,” Boots Riley’s comedic take on a professional shoplifter, “I Love Boosters,” and John Carney’s “Power Ballad,” starring Paul Rudd and Nick Jonas as former wedding singers and young rock stars. On TV will be David E. Kelley’s Margo’s Got Money Trouble, an adaptation of Luffy Thorpe’s best-selling novel starring Elle Fanning, Michelle Pfeiffer, Nick Offerman and Nicole Kidman, as well as the season 3 premiere of The Comeback, starring Michael Patrick King and Lisa Kudrow.
“SXSW has always been the ultimate fusion of culture and innovation, and this announcement takes it to a new level,” said Greg Rosenbaum, SXSW Senior VP of Programming. “Among the business moguls, political titans, and entertainment legends our team has assembled, the collective star power coming to SXSW may actually be visible from space.”
See below for SXSW descriptions of newly added keynotes and featured sessions.
Say It Louder: Artists, Activism, and the First Amendment — In this keynote, First Amendment Commission founder Jane Fonda, comedian W. Kamau Bell, and ACLU’s Jessica Weitz discuss the important connections between culture and behavior, and the First Amendment. We share how the Article empowers artists to challenge authority and how all individuals can take concrete action to protect free speech when democracy is at stake.
Talk about life, sibling rivalry, and lonely islands — Do you like discussions about art, comedy, and music? So do we! Join Emmy Award-winning brothers Jorma Taccone and Asa Taccone (from “Dick in a Box,” don’t get too excited) as they discuss their work together, “The Lonely Island,” “Electric Guest,” and probably other topics. Be there or be fair, nerd!
Baby, This Is Kiki Palmer Live — Join Kike Palmer and the I Love Boosters cast Naomi Ackie, Taylor Page, Eiza Gonzalez, Poppy Liu, and Demi Moore for a live podcast recording of her hit podcast, “Baby, This Is Kiki Palmer.”
Bob Odenkirk: Step into the action hero phase with the team at NORMAL and explore the state of action movies — Collider’s Perry Nemiroff sits down with Bob Odenkirk, director Ben Wheatley, screenwriter Derek Kolstad, and producer Mark Provisiero to discuss their kinetic neo-Western action film, exploring the future of the genre and Odenkirk’s evolution into an undeniable action leading man.
Breaking down barriers and building solutions: Meet the changemakers transforming health innovation—This conversation with Serena Williams and Reckitt Catalyst highlights underrepresented founders who are reshaping health through community-driven innovation and scalable change: Katherine Casey Nanda, Kwamane Liddell, Micah Eddy, and Ryan Dullea.
Chaos, Craft, and Chris Fleming — Fresh off his HBO special, Chris Fleming brings his fearless, absurdly accurate world of comedy to SXSW with a celebratory deep dive into the creative process and wild physicality behind his idiosyncratic storytelling.
Clips and Conversation with Riz Ahmed on BAIT — Enjoy a preview and live discussion with Emmy and Oscar-winning actor Riz Ahmed about the upcoming Prime Video comedy series “BAIT.” The series is about a struggling actor who auditions for the role of a lifetime, only to see his life spiral out of control over four frenetic days.
Founder-led growth: Turning audience signals into AI-powered commerce – Phoebe Gates and Sofia Chianni, co-founders of shopping agency Phia, share their experience building AI-native commerce apps while prioritizing meaningful community engagement to inform their product roadmap.
Matt Strauss & Andy Cohen: Community, Culture, and the Future of Entertainment — Matt Strauss and Andy Cohen sit down with SE Cupp to explore the evolution of entertainment across platforms and how immersive experiences and fandom building transform shows into expansive worlds and viewers into active participants.
Networth & Chill with guest Governor Gavin Newsom — Join rich people’s best friend Vivian Tu for a live recording of her podcast, “Networth & Chill.” There, she gives an up-close-and-personal look at how money impacts our lives, the good, the bad, and the ugly. In this special episode from the SXSW Keynote Stage, Vivian interviews Gov. Gavin Newsom about why politics matters to our wallets.
Not All Superheroes Wear Capes: From Outside the Kitchen to Comics—Following the success of José Andrés’ graphic novel Feeding Dangerously about the humanitarian organization World Central Kitchen, José Andrés sits down with writer Steve Orlando and Marvel Comics editor Nick Lowe to discuss the universal appeal of food and comics.
Play It Live: How livestreaming is rewriting the rules of music—Twitch Head of Community Mary Kish speaks with Tierra Whack and DJ Dave to explore how artists are bypassing algorithms and redefining the music industry, leveraging livestreaming as a real-time studio, stage, and fan hub that prioritizes authentic collaboration.
