IMDb Heads to Austin to Bring Star-Studded Coverage of the SXSW Film & TV Festival to Entertainment Fans Across the Globe

IMDb exclusive coverage of SXSW 2023 includes a celebrity portrait studio, video interviews with top stars and filmmakers, and IMDb STARmeter Award presentations to Bob Odenkirk and Ayo Edebiri

The SXSW 2023 Shorts Film Program presented by IMDbPro will present seven competitive sections

SEATTLE–(BUSINESS WIRE)–IMDb (www.imdb.com), the world’s most popular and authoritative source for information on movies, TV shows, and celebrities, will showcase exclusive, on-the-ground coverage of the 2023 SXSW® Film & TV Festival across the IMDb site, apps, and social channels, offering hundreds of millions of entertainment fans around the world an inside peek at the biggest news, titles, and stars in Austin, Texas. As an official festival sponsor, IMDb will produce exclusive celebrity portraits and interviews with leading actors, writers, and directors of titles including I Used to Be Funny, Late Bloomers, Love & Death, Parachute, Swarm, and Yellowjackets, at The IMDb Studio at SXSW from March 10-12.

IMDbPro (http://www.imdbpro.com/), the essential resource for entertainment industry professionals, is sponsoring the lineup of short films across seven competitive sections. The SXSW 2023 Short Film Programs presented by IMDbPro include a selection of original, well-crafted films that take advantage of the short form and exemplify distinct and genuine storytelling. Winners of the Narrative, Documentary, and Animated categories in the Short Film Programs will each receive a $2,500 cash award, made possible by IMDbPro to help advance their careers. IMDbPro, a membership-based service of IMDb, empowers entertainment professionals with information and tools designed to help them achieve success throughout their career. IMDbPro offers a free membership plan for professionals with an existing IMDb name page. Professionals can upgrade to a standard membership for full access to the most powerful IMDbPro features, including setting their featured image, primary profession, and the titles they are “Known For,” using advanced search, and viewing contact information for companies and professionals.

At The IMDb Portrait Studio at SXSW (located within the festival’s Media Village at the JW Marriott)—open March 10-12—celebrity photographer Corey Nickols will capture exclusive photos and motion photography with casts and filmmakers. IMDb will also produce original video interviews with select casts in the custom video studio. Coverage will be featured on the IMDb site, apps, and social channels, reaching hundreds of millions of entertainment fans around the world. IMDb customers can add festival titles to their IMDb Watchlist to be notified when they’re available in theaters or streaming. Access to The IMDb Studio at SXSW is by invitation only.

IMDb will present an “Icon” STARmeter Award to Emmy-and-SAG-nominated actor/producer and Emmy-winning writer (Saturday Night Live, The Ben Stiller Show) Bob Odenkirk, honoring his multi-hyphenate career in the entertainment industry. IMDb STARmeter Awards recognize the most popular stars on the IMDbPro STARmeter chart, which is determined by the actual page views of the more than 200 million fans who visit IMDb every month. Odenkirk consistently trends high on the IMDbPro STARmeter rankings, and Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul hold top ranking positions on both the IMDb Most Popular TV Shows chart and IMDb Top 250 list. Odenkirk will star as William Devereaux in the upcoming TV series Lucky Hank, debuting at the festival, and on AMC on March 19.

Additionally, IMDb will present a “Breakout Star” STARmeter Award to Film Independent Spirit Award-winning and NAACP Image Award-nominated actress/writer/producer Ayo Edebiri. Edebiri is a strong performer on the IMDb STARmeter chart, making her mark in 2022 as Sydney Adamu on the IMDb top user-rated series The Bear, and other popular titles including Big Mouth and Abbott Elementary. Entertainment fans can’t wait to see her upcoming film Bottoms (which premieres at SXSW) and are thrilled about her recent casting news in the highly anticipated Marvel Film Thunderbolts. IMDb STARmeter Awards have proven to be a keenly accurate predictor of stars who are about to have a breakthrough career moment. Recent IMDb “Breakout Star” recipients include Emma D’Arcy, Regé-Jean Page, Simone Ashley, and Nicholas Braun.

“Year after year, the global creative community converges at SXSW to celebrate artists who are pushing the envelope and raising the bar,” said Col Needham, IMDb founder & CEO. “This year marks our first-ever SXSW original photo and video studio for talent, expanding our on-the-ground presence at leading festivals around the world to include exclusive coverage of SXSW titles and artists for our hundreds of millions of fans to discover.”

During the festival, fans can view exclusive IMDb interviews and photo galleries at https://www.imdb.com/sxsw/ and on IMDb social media channels including TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter. IMDb will also share an exclusive peek at all the behind-the-scenes action from The IMDb Studio at SXSW, available by following #IMDbStudio.

IMDbPro members on the standard plan can quickly and easily access detailed information about SXSW movies, TV, filmmakers, cast, and crew on the IMDbPro site and the IMDbPro app for iPhone, iPad, and Android. IMDbPro standard membership includes the following: detailed contact and representation information; tools for members to manage and showcase their IMDb profile, including selecting their primary images and the credits they are best “known for”; exclusive STARmeter rankings determined by page views on IMDb; IMDbPro Track, which empowers members to receive personalized entertainment industry news and notifications on the people and film and TV projects they want to follow; and a convenient feature that generates custom digital assets to promote their work on social media and other platforms. IMDbPro also offers a free membership plan with features for professionals to self-identify and manage the display of information about themselves and their careers on IMDb and IMDbPro and limited access to industry news, research, and cast and crew notices. Join IMDbPro today at www.imdbpro.com.

About IMDb

IMDb is the world’s most popular and authoritative source for information on movies, TV shows, and celebrities. Products and services to help fans decide what to watch and where to watch it include: the IMDb website for desktop and mobile devices; apps for iOS and Android; and X-Ray on Prime Video. IMDb also produces IMDb original video series and podcasts. For entertainment industry professionals, IMDb provides IMDbPro and Box Office Mojo. IMDb licenses information from its vast and authoritative database to third-party businesses worldwide; learn more at developer.imdb.com. IMDb is an Amazon company. For more information, visit imdb.com/press and follow @IMDb.

About SXSW

SXSW dedicates itself to helping creative people achieve their goals. Founded in 1987 in Austin, Texas, SXSW is best known for its conference and festivals that celebrate the convergence of tech, film and television, music, education, and culture. An essential destination for global professionals, the annual March event features sessions, music, and comedy showcases, film & TV screenings, exhibitions, professional development, and a variety of networking opportunities. SXSW proves that the most unexpected discoveries happen when diverse topics and people come together. SXSW 2023 will take place March 10 – 19, 2023 in Austin. For more information, please visit sxsw.com. To register for the event, please visit sxsw.com/attend.

SXSW 2023 is sponsored by White Claw, Porsche, Itaù bank, C4 Energy, Slack, and The Austin Chronicle.

Contacts

press@imdb.com