South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Texas, United States. It began in 1987 and has continued growing in both scope and size every year. In 2017, the conference lasted for 10 days with the interactive track lasting for five days, music for seven days, and film for nine days. There was no in-person event in 2020 and 2021 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic in Austin, Texas; in both years there was a smaller online event instead.
Robert Francis "Beto" O'Rourke is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for Texas's 16th congressional district from 2013 to 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, O'Rourke was the party's nominee for the U.S. Senate in 2018, a candidate for the presidential nomination in 2020, and the party's nominee for the 2022 Texas gubernatorial election.
Atomic Ed and the Black Hole is a documentary released in 2001 by filmmaker, Ellen Spiro. The documentary was made for HBO's Cinemax Reel Life Series. Sheila Nevins served as Executive Producer and Lisa Heller served as Supervising Producer. Karen Bernstein served as Producer. Laurie Anderson provided her song, Big Science, for the soundtrack.
Suzi Yoonessi is an American filmmaker. She wrote and directed the award-winning feature film Dear Lemon Lima, and directed the Duplass Brothers film Unlovable and Daphne and Velma for Warner Brothers. Yoonessi's short films No Shoulder and Dear Lemon Lima are distributed by Shorts International and Vanguard Cinema and her documentary film Vern is distributed by National Film Network and is in the permanent collection of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.
The Case Against 8 is an American documentary film, which premiered at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival on January 18, 2014. Directed and produced by Ben Cotner and Ryan White, the film documents the legal battle to overturn California's Proposition 8, focusing in particular on behind-the-scenes footage of David Boies and Theodore Olson during the Perry v. Schwarzenegger case.
Motto Pictures is a documentary production company based in Brooklyn, New York specializing in producing and executive producing documentary features. Motto secures financing, builds distribution strategies, and creatively develops films, and has produced over 25 feature documentaries and won numerous awards.
The 2018 United States Senate election in Texas was held on November 6, 2018, along with other elections to the United States Senate and elections to the United States House of Representatives in additional states. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Ted Cruz ran successfully for re-election to a second term against Democratic candidate Beto O'Rourke. The primary for all parties was held on March 6, 2018, making it the first primary of the 2018 season. As Cruz and O'Rourke both won majorities in their primaries, they did not participate in the May 22 runoff primary that was held for some nominations in Texas.
Landfill Harmonic is a 2015 documentary film directed by Brad Allgood and Graham Townsley. It stars and tells the story of Paraguayan music teacher Favio Chavez and his Recycled Orchestra of Cateura, a children's orchestra in Paraguay which performs with materials recycled from a trash landfill near Asunción. According to The Huffington Post, "[t]he film is both an exposé on the harsh conditions of slum life and a commentary on the global threats of consumption and waste".
Jessica M. Thompson is an Australian film and television writer, director, editor and producer, who resides in Los Angeles.
Dealt is a 2017 American documentary film directed by Luke Korem. The film is about the life and career of Richard Turner - who is renowned as one of the world's greatest card magicians, yet he is completely blind.
Science Fair is a 2018 National Geographic documentary film that premiered at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival, winning the first ever Festival Favorite Award.
The 2020 presidential campaign of Beto O'Rourke, the U.S. representative for Texas's 16th congressional district from 2013 to 2019, was announced on March 14, 2019. Beto O'Rourke had previously attracted national attention for his unsuccessful campaign against Ted Cruz in the 2018 Senate election in Texas.
Foss was an American rock band formed in El Paso, Texas in the early 1990s. It is known for former members Cedric Bixler-Zavala, who found success in the music industry as the singer for the rock bands At the Drive-In and the Mars Volta, as well as Beto O'Rourke, who later was a U.S. Representative and candidate for U.S. Senator, U.S. President, and Governor of Texas.
Edward Watts is an English filmmaker who is known for making documentaries and narrative-focused films. He has created films in conjunction with UK television network Channel 4 and ITN Productions. He is known for films including For Sama (2019), Escape From ISIS (2015) and The Mega Brothel (2015).
The 2022 Texas gubernatorial election took place on November 8, 2022, to elect the governor of Texas. Incumbent Republican governor Greg Abbott won re-election to a third term, defeating Democratic nominee and former Congressman, Beto O'Rourke. All statewide elected offices are currently held by Republicans. In his previous gubernatorial race in 2018, Abbott won with 54.8% of the vote.
Elvis Presley: The Searcher is a 2018 television documentary film produced by HBO Documentary Films about the life of American singer Elvis Presley, highlighting the development of his musical artistry. Co-edited, co-produced, and directed by Thom Zimny, the documentary premiered at the 2018 South by Southwest Film Festival in two parts on March 14 and 15, 2018, before airing on HBO in its entirety on April 14.
Presidential primaries and caucuses are being organized by the Democratic Party to select the delegates to the 2024 Democratic National Convention, to determine the party's nominee for president in the 2024 United States presidential election. The elections will take place in all 50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, five U.S. territories, and Democrats Abroad, and will be held between February and June that year. Incumbent President Joe Biden is running for re-election with Vice President Kamala Harris as his running mate. Other candidates include vaccine skeptic and environmental attorney Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and author Marianne Williamson. Biden maintains a significant lead in polls, and no incumbent president in modern history has lost renomination.
In the Same Breath is a 2021 documentary film directed and produced by Nanfu Wang. It follows how the Chinese and American governments reacted to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Lily Topples the World is a 2021 American documentary film, which follows acclaimed domino toppler Lily Hevesh as she rises as an artist, role model, and young woman. Directed by Jeremy Workman, the film also marks the producing debut of actress Kelly Marie Tran.
TransMilitary is a 2018 American documentary film directed by Gabriel Silverman and Fiona Dawson, about transgender service members fighting to serve openly in the U.S. military. The film premiered at the South by Southwest Film Festival in 2018, and was released in the United States on January 8, 2019.
