Anna Daniels
SXSW was cancelled due to coronavirus fears, but thanks to the fine folks at Oscilloscope and Mailchimp, you can now enjoy some SXSW programming from your own home. Around 75 SXSW short films are going to be released online, for free, with many available right now. The lineup includes four festival winners and seven special recognition films, and since you’re likely stuck inside, you have plenty of time to watch everything.
Short films need love, especially those that were set to premiere at SXSW, only to end up left out in the cold. So Oscilloscope and Mailchimp have joined forces to release nearly every short film that would’ve played the fest online, right here. The site is 100% free, and doesn’t even require a password. Just go over there and start watching.
After SXSW was shutdown, Mailchimp and O-Scope set out to find a solution for short films. With support from the SXSW programming team, “offers were made to all filmmakers who were selected as part of the 2020 SXSW Official Short Film Selections, and we were able to license a vast majority.” The films will be available on the site above exclusively throughout April.
After the cancellation of this year’s SXSW, Mailchimp and O-Scope scrambled to find a way to help filmmakers showcase the projects they had worked so hard to have accepted into the festival. With the support of the SXSW programming team, offers were made to all filmmakers who were selected as part of the 2020 SXSW Official Short Film Selections, and we were able to license a vast majority. These films will be available on Mailchimp Presents exclusively through April.
Regarding the shorts program, O-Scop president Dan Berger said:
“When SXSW announced their cancellation, one of our first thoughts was the mass devastation that would be felt by the filmmakers who would no longer have an opportunity to experience their premiere. With the exceedingly generous support of Mailchimp, we were collectively able to make a mad dash to create a site from the ground up (thanks Code and Theory!) to highlight these films, pay the filmmakers generously for their rights, and make everything available to the public at no cost.”
While Sarita Alami, Director of Programming at Mailchimp Studios added:
The night that SXSW was cancelled, filmmakers were wondering what to do next, and prominent members of the tight-knit film community offered support and a signal-boost — we wondered if we could do the same at scale. With this project, we’re trying to accomplish two things: to offer these artists a platform for exposure, and to provide access to some amazing work from artists I’m sure we’ll be hearing about for a long time to come. And, we’re excited that many people who weren’t planning on attending the festival, as well as those who were, will get to enjoy them too.”
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