UPDATE: Almost 40 films and documentaries are currently available to stream for free on Amazon. The content will be available through May 6.
If you're still bummed about the unprecedented cancellation of South by Southwest or just need something new to watch this month, stayed tuned for a new collaboration between the Austin-based festival and Amazon Prime—coming soon to a streaming device near you.
SXSW and Amazon announced a new 10-day digital film festival featuring some of the films that were supposed to air at the 33-year-old festival last month. While the digital lineup has not yet been set, the original festival film schedule included highly anticipated productions like David Lowery's The Green Knight. SXSW filmmakers will have the choice to opt in to the online film festival, and those who join will receive a screening fee for their films' 10-day run.
The film fest—which is aiming for a late April release date—will be free to anyone with an Amazon account (no Prime membership necessary).
Okay, exciting news y'all! We’re partnering with @SXSW on a 10-day streaming event to bring you a collection of movies from this year’s line-up. It'll be free to everyone in the U.S. (yeah, we said everyone) because these films deserve an audience. Stay tuned for more details!
— PrimeVideo (@PrimeVideo) April 2, 2020
"We’re honored to be able to provide a space for the SXSW filmmakers to share their hard work and passion with audiences for the first time," said Jennifer Salke, Head of Amazon Studios, in a press release. "We... hope this online film festival can help give back some of that experience, and showcase artists and films that audiences might otherwise not have had the chance to see."
If you need something to watch between now and then, HBO just released 500 free hours of TV and movies or see what's new on Netflix this month.