The second London edition of SXSW runs from 1 to 6 June across Shoreditch and, if last year’s inaugural run taught us anything, it’s that the festival rewards those who plan selectively and wander freely.
The official programme is sprawling – across hubs including the Truman Brewery and Christ Church Spitalfields – and, this year, organisers have structured it by daily theme, which makes navigation potentially easier than it sounds. The days we think are worth mapping: Monday (AI and frontier tech), Wednesday (society, screen and story) and Thursday (design and technology). Evenings, as they should, belong to music.
The keynote lineup blends experts in tech, social psychology, film and TV, and social impact. On Wednesday 3 June, Sir Tim Berners-Lee (casually the inventor of World Wide Web) hosts a fireside chat with John Bruce (considering one of the world leaders in web architecture), about how every AI platform we use today is quietly building a file on you. Creepy..? You’ll have to attend to find out.
On Thursday 4 June, Sharon Horgan will deliver a keynote on wearing many hats as an actor, writer, producer, director and the founder of leading production company Merman, which she has turned into a global production hub. We’re big Sharon fans and can’t wait for this one.
Also on Thursday, famed social psychologist Esther Perel shares the stage with Dr Rangan Chatterjee (doctor, author and host of the incredibly popular podcast Feel Better, Live More) about whether we can survive our technologies and the increasingly disembodied ways we live. On Friday, Dr Agnès Callamard, the secretary general of Amnesty International, joins Josie Fernandez-Marelli, co-founder of Choose Love, on how far-right rhetoric impacts culture and the glimmers of hope shown in its resistance.
The film programme has a few world premieres worth noting. Feast Or Famine follows a local London restaurant, Angelina, as it chases a Michelin star — narrated by Marco Pierre White, and apparently “not comfortable viewing”. Amoeba, from Singapore, is a bit harder to categorise: a psychological drama about schoolgirls with surrealist elements that has generated significant early buzz. And Intelligence Rising, a documentary by Oscar-winner Elena Andreicheva, examines the “new power structures” of the algorithmic age.
On the music side, Tiwa Savage and Odumodublvck headline Thursday night, representing the kind of global range the festival has been trying to build: Odumodublvck is a Nigerian rapper who fuses grime and Afrobeat into what he calls “Okporoko Rhythms”. Wednesday brings Rachel Chinouriri, Infinity Song, and Circa Waves; Friday closes the week with Shame. And on Tuesday night, Sega Bodega performs an ambient set at Christ Church Spitalfields titled “I Brought You To The Church To Watch Me Play My Ambient Album By The Altar”. We do not know exactly what to expect, which makes us want to be there.
A practical note: the national “Houses” – cultural embassies set up by countries including the Netherlands in Shoreditch venues – are consistently where more intimate conversations tend to happen. They are less scripted, more candid and often have better coffee. Make sure to build in time to drift.
SXSW London runs June 1-6 across Shoreditch. Passes and the full programme can be found here
