South by Southwest Festival in Austin to Highlight Diaspora at First-ever South Asian House

Next year’s South by Southwest (SXSW) will unveil an innovative initiative to highlight, recognize, and appreciate South Asians as well as accomplished members of the diaspora at the first-ever South Asian House (SAH) to be unveiled at the festival in March 2023, Variety reports. “It will showcase programming around film/television, dance/music, technology, business, fashion, comedy, and climate change from a South Asian worldview.”

The two days of plenaries, sessions, panel discussions, workshops, art exhibits, book launches, music concerts, and more will take place during the first weekend of SXSW, March 11 and 12, in the iconic 4th Street neighborhood of downtown Austin.

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.

SAH is the brainchild of veteran producers, curators, and programmers Rohi Mirza Pandya (Box Office Guru Media & Desipina), Monika Samtani (Ms. Media & The Fem Word), Jitin Hingorani (Jingo Media & DFW South Asian Film Festival), and Kirtana Banskota (Banskota Productions & Nepal America Film Society).

“We are thrilled to be commissioned to curate the first-ever South Asian House in the 37-year-history of this iconic film, tech, and music festival that is now in the global spotlight,” the curatorial team told Variety. “Our subcontinent is rich in history, art, culture, and science, and we want the thousands of expected attendees at SXSW to experience our contributions to the world first-hand. Never has South Asia been represented on such a massive scale at an A-list festival.”

One of the highlights will include a red carpet and awards ceremony on Oscar Sunday to recognize South Asian talent and filmmakers who have been featured at past SXSW festivals, as well as those nominated for the 2023 Academy Awards.

The festivities will be held at The Pub on 4th Street. “During the weekend-long experience co-influencers, celebrities, icons, and enthusiasts of South Asian academia, film, music, culture, design, fashion, business, tech, and climate change will exchange ideas and synergies in this inclusive and thought-provoking environment that has put Austin on the international map,” owner Niles Patel told Variety.

“South Asians are one of the most accomplished minority groups living and working in the United States,” SXSW Director of Global Sales Neil Minocha said to Variety. “As a proud South Asian, I have been working towards this kind of programming for years. I look forward to paying tribute to the vast contributions the diaspora has made in almost every major industry through the establishment of
the South Asian House.”

“All the curated events at the SAH will require an official SXSW badge OR attendees will be required to RSVP to each event on a first-come, first-served basis,” the Variety report added.