What is South by Southwest?

Le South by Southwest Festival is an annual event held in Austin, Texas, that celebrates the convergence of the cultural and creative industries (including film and music) and technology. Launched in 1987 by Roland Swenson, Louis Black, Nick Barbaro, and Louis Meyers, the event initially focused on music and aimed to showcase Austin's eclectic music scene. Organizers later added film and interactive components, making the South by southwest a major multidisciplinary event. The name of the festival is also a nod to the film " North by Northwest » by Alfred Hitchcock.
From 700 participants in its first edition to more than 345 in the 000 edition, SXSW has seen its attendance grow exponentially and now brings together more than 100 countries around concerts and screenings. The festival has often hosted the premiere of notable films such as " Everything Everywhere All at Once » by Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, « A Quiet Place » by John Krasinski, « Ready Player One » by Steven Spielberg or « The Cabin in the Woods » by Drew Goddard. « South by » is also the venue for conferences and panels by notable personalities: Barack Obama and Lady Gaga have already participated in the festival, attracting worldwide media attention and illustrating the artistic and cultural, tech, entrepreneurial and inspiring dimensions of the event.
For tech entrepreneurs, SXSW is the ideal place to announce innovations that will change the face of the world and to present their expert and forward-looking point of view. As during the 2023 edition where Greg Brockman, president and co-founder of OpenAI, shared his vision of an artificial intelligence beneficial to humanity without denying the upheavals that it could cause in many sectors. He had then underlined the importance of educating the general public on the capabilities and limits of this technology and called for appropriate regulations. This was a few days before the launch of GPT-4.

What to expect for SXSW 2025?

Each year, Amy Webb, CEO of the Future Today Institute, opens the ball of innovation celebrations with a highly anticipated conference, one that sets the tone and a sharp vision of the major tech trends to follow. Last year, the person concerned set the scene for the " technology supercycle " in front of which we stand: artificial intelligence, ecosystem of connected objects (IoT), biotech, Gen T (generation transition), organoid intelligence, " makers » vs « talkers "... His speech, again highly anticipated this year, should focus on new trends in AI and their impact on society, the future of the internet and the technologies that will shape it, and the implications of these technological advances for businesses and individuals.

The French Touch Rendez-vous, the unmissable event of SXSW 2025

An event within the event! On March 8, SXSW will have its eyes fixed on La French Touch rendez-vous.
Listed in the official SXSW program, La French Touch rendez-vous is the place to discover the best of French creativity. On the program for this third edition: panels of French and international experts, the presentation of four immersive experiences presented by the Villa Albertine and a video game...
An event presented by La French Touch and Bpifrance, with the support of the Villa Albertine, the French Institute for Culture and Education and the French-American Chamber of Commerce - Texas.
📅 March 8, 2025
📍 The Courtyard ATX, Austin, Texas

The French delegation with Thomas Jolly and Thierry Reboul, creators of the ceremonies of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games!

Thomas Jolly and Thierry Reboul will be at SXSW 2025. La French Touch is very happy to have them among the members of the French delegation. The interested parties will speak on March 8 at the event "La French Touch Rendez-vous" and on March 9 at 14:30 PM for an exclusive panel "The Future of Mega Events: What Comes After Paris Olympics?" at the Austin Convention Center.

With the intervention of HugoDécrypte!

Journalist and videographer Hugo Travers, founder of the media outlets Hugo Décrypte and Elan, will also be part of the French delegation. He will participate in a discussion with Nicolas Santi-Weil, CEO of AMI Paris and Olivier Goy, an entrepreneur famous for sharing his fight against Charcot's disease in the documentary " Invincible summer ».

Who are the companies in the French delegation at SXSW 2025?

In 2024, the French delegation included 40 companies, all looking for inspiration to increase their creativity and encountering sometimes very different issues. Among them, Chanel, Paris Photo, Enchanted Tools and Mangas.io.
This year, more than 60 participants will fly to Austin with Bpifrance, la French Touch and we are_, including:

- Fred & Farid, advertising and communications agency

- LVMH, leading group in the luxury industry

- Cosmic Shelter, an immersive experiences company

- AMI Paris, luxury fashion and clothing house for men and women

- Ubisoft, a video game development and publishing company

- Flying Secoya, a consulting agency specializing in low-carbon support and CSR for the audiovisual, cinema and advertising sectors

- Image Sept, independent communications and public affairs consulting agency

- Grégoire Furrer Productions, a company specializing in the management, administration and administration of artistic and audiovisual projects

- The Madame Arthur cabaret

- Emissive (Excurio), a company specializing in the creation of immersive cultural experiences in virtual reality

- ...

Premium access to the festival with a tailor-made program, panels and keynotes, creative workshops, networking opportunities, feedback, visits to leading Texan company sites, will punctuate the French delegation's stay in Austin.