Netflix is the latest company to pull out of SXSW 2020, a source familiar with the situation tells Variety, canceling five film screenings and a panel for #BlackExcellence.
Screenings of five films have been canceled, including feature film “Uncorked,” and four documentaries: “A Secret Love,” “L.A. Originals,” “Mucho Mucho Amor,” “Have a Good Trip: Adventures in Psychedelics.”
The most high-profile event Netflix had planned for SXSW was a March 15 panel with Kenya Barris and Rashida Jones on their upcoming series #BlackExcellence.
So far, 11 cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in Texas.
Netflix is far from the only entertainment and tech company that has pulled out of the media, music and tech festival. Apple said Wednesday afternoon that it would no longer participate, canceling its world premiere of Spike Jonze’s documentary, “Beastie Boys Story,” as well as its screenings of animated musical series “Central Park” and docuseries “Home.”
Late Tuesday night, Amazon Studios confirmed its decision to withdraw from SXSW, axing its screenings of “Upload” and “Tales of the Loop,” which had included Q&As with the cast and crew, as well as a consumer marketing activation with Entertainment Weekly. Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, Mashable and Intel will also no longer be attending.
Popular on Variety
SXSW, which runs from March 13 through March 22, is still slated to go forward in Austin, Texas. But other entertainment and tech conferences have either been canceled or put on hold, including MipTV, Google I/O, GDC, Facebook’s F8 and Mobile World Congress.
