by TEAM SUSTAIN

Sustainable and inclusive storytelling seemed to take over SXSW 2023 in Austin, Texas this past spring.

Our very own founder and editor-in-chief, Reza Cristián, took the official stage at SXSW’s Climate Change conference track on a conversation around How Climate Storytelling Can Beat Climate Doom on March 13th. 

After two years of submitting to SXSW’s panelpicker pitch, SUSTAIN THE MAG finally got approved alongside our eco-friends Isaias Hernandez, environmental justice education and founder of Queer Brown Vegan, Krystal Frame, founder of Sustain Frame, Diandra Marizet, executive director at Intersectional Environmentalist moderated by our very own Reza Cristián.

The panel concentrated on the importance of ancestral, BIPOC storytelling and optimism being at the forefront of the climate movement vs the individualistic white narrative, doomism that mainstream media pushes. 

This wasn’t the only time a call for more inclusive stories were mentioned throughout the week. 

This year’s festival showcased inclusivity from their film portion to their panels. It’s been over 35 years since the first SXSW began in 1987. The founding group shared one common belief: that the local music and creative communities were just as talented as anywhere else in the world, but were extremely limited by a lack of exposure outside of Austin. Thus, SXSW was born to give local creative professionals a platform. 

And since then, SXSW has been a hub for all things great, bringing new talent from all over the world to give their voice a chance to be heard on their main stage or on screen. 

Now fast forward to 2023, one of the conference’s main focuses is all about caring for the planet and giving a spotlight to those fighting the climate crisis. 

With the current Writer’s Guild of America strike happening and thousands of writer’s asking for decent ethical pay for their talents, and more diverse stories coming to television, we need to highlight the work the writer’s and crew of film and TV showcase to create magic on our screens. 

At this year’s SXSW, we saw ‘Bottoms’ film debut become a fan favorite for its raunchy queer take on fight club directed by Emma Seligman of “Shiva Baby’ also featuring Rachel Sennott. Another fan favorite, was a story about America’s struggling immigration policies in ‘Problemista’, featuring Tilda Swinton and RZA of Wu-Tang Clan. Both of these films that are so needed and refreshing to see come out of SXSW.

Other great conversations during the conference portion, was “Killing John Smith: Indigenous Women Storytellers’ featuring Princess Daazhraii Johnson of Deenaadàį' Productions, Jessica McEver of IllumiNative, and director and cinematographer Shaandiin Tome. The three women discuss how to bring more Native women stories to the forefront in the media, especially in film.

This year’s SXSW did not disappoint from the films, panels and music, bringing in people to enjoy the talents of others for one week only in Austin, Texas every year. We can’t wait to see how SXSW builds up on inclusivity in their future schedules. 

Be sure to be on the lookout for SXSW’s 2024 line-up here. 

Photos taken by Julia Le