South by Southwest (SXSW) is an annual music, film, tech, and ideas festival and conference held in Austin, Texas, for ten days every March. Hundreds of thousands of people from all over the world descend upon the city to network, present, perform, learn and party.
SXSW is so massive and so sprawling that FOMO is unavoidable and on-the-fly discovery is a given. Whoever your people are, and whatever your interests are, they are bound to be represented at SXSW. The challenge is that it can feel overwhelming to try to find them. That’s why we’ve created this guide to help you discover Jewish and Israeli programming at SXSW. Whether you’re headed to Austin this week or just want to know what new culture and innovations are coming down the pipeline, this guide is for you.
Events
It’s impossible to track every SXSW and SXSW-adjacent happening, but here are a handful that look especially relevant to Hey Alma’s readers — and that don’t require official (and expensive) SXSW badges to attend.
TXHQ: Israel Downtown Rooftop Event
Thursday, March 6, 1-7pm
A meetup for startup folks interested in trade relations and business partnerships between Texas and Israel. Featuring Israeli cybersecurity, AI and software startups, as well as business-y panels on VC funding and so on. Plus drinks, of course. This is SXSW, after all. Free with RSVP.
Schmooze x SXSW at Wanderlust Wine Co.
Friday, March 7, 4-7pm
Schmooze, self-described as “Austin’s premier Jewish Social Club, where high-end networking meets vibrant community,” hosts their first-ever SXSW event at a spacious wine bar. Expect challah by Hakol Challahs, babka by Lady Babka, speakers and networking. Free with RSVP.
Friday, March 7, 7:30pm
Tech Tribe — an affiliate of Chabad Young Professionals focused on serving Jews in tech and digital media — has hosted Shabbat dinner at SXSW every year since 2010. As the event has become institutionalized, it’s grown and grown: Last year roughly 350 festival-goers from all over the world, both Jews and non-Jews, were in attendance. Tech Tribe’s founder, Rabbi Mordechai Lightstone, explains the event’s purpose as follows: “The Shabbat meal creates a platform for people to connect and to be able to experience the here and now and all the great energy of the festival without a sense of FOMO. It’s an island of serenity in the digital chaos of SXSW.” Attendance is donation-based and includes a full Shabbat dinner.
Mazel Tov Kocktail Hour at Stargazer
Sunday, March 9, 6-8pm
This isn’t strictly a SXSW event, but Austin’s resident klezmer band, who regularly plays around town, will be performing at a charming new coffeeshop and cocktail bar a bit east of the downtown hustle and bustle. You can get a pretty good pizza there, too. Dinner and an accordion — what more do you want?
Film
Tons of films and TV shows from all over the world premiere at SXSW. Here, we’ve pulled out a few that sound especially Jewish. All screenings are included in a SXSW badge, or you can purchase tickets to individual screenings for $30 apiece.
A documentary about “profoundly Jewish” comedian Marc Maron as he grappled with his wife’s death, his aging father and his legacy. Showing March 11 and March 13 at AFS.
“Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore”
A documentary about Jewish actress Marlee Matlin, star of the Oscar-winning film CODA. Showing March 11 at the Paramount and March 15 at the Hyatt Regency.
Brothers and musicians Ari and Ethan Gold search for their missing father, the acclaimed poet and novelist Herbert Gold. Showing March 9 at the Alamo S. Lamar, and March 10 and March 12 at Violet Crown Cinema.
“Strange Journey: The Story of Rocky Horror”
A documentary about the origins and impact of the surprisingly Jewish cult film. Showing March 9 at the Paramount and March 13 at ZACH.
“Unholy”
A narrative short about a 20-year-old girl attending her family’s Passover Seder and dealing with all of their mishegas. Showing March 8 and March 11 at the Long Center.
Is this movie Jewish? I can’t say for sure, but what we do know that it’s about a paralegal named Sam Stein who winds up babysitting for his psychiatrist’s grandkids on Martha’s Vineyard, and its stars include Bob Balaban, Zosia Mamet, Matthew Shear, Amanda Peet, Alessandro Nivola, and Judd Hirsch. So, odds are good. Showing March 8 and March 14 at the Alamo S. Lamar, and March 10 at the Long Center.
A new TV show from famed Jewish besties Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg. (The two met in bar mitzvah class!) This comedy stars Rogen as the newly appointed head of a floundering film studio. Showing March 7 at the Paramount.
“Death of a Unicorn” and “Friendship”
One of Hey Alma’s favorite celebrity boyfriends, Paul Rudd — you know, the man who doesn’t need to practice Judaism because he already perfected it — appears in not one but two movies gracing the screens of SXSW. “Death of a Unicorn” is about a man and his daughter who accidentally hit a unicorn on their way to a weekend retreat and is showing March 8 at the Paramount and March 9 at the Hyatt Regency. “Friendship” is a comedy about male friendship gone awry, showing March 9 at the Alamo S. Lamar and March 11 at the Paramount.
Startups
SXSW Pitch is an opportunity for startup founders from all over the world to present to experts, media and investors. Out of the 70+ finalists in this year’s pitch competition, two are Israeli: CODA, which translates spoken language into sign language, and FastSense, a hydrogen molecule management company. Another Israeli project is a finalist at the SXSW Innovation Awards: Animal Alerts, a new technology that uses pet health data to predict earthquakes. (Really!)
Food
While you’re in town, you’re going to have to eat. Although Austin’s Israeli cuisine still has a long way to go before it’s anywhere near on par with our BBQ, the past few years have seen a handful of high-end Israeli restaurants opening here, most notably Aba and Ezov. And if you grow weary of breakfast tacos, you can’t go wrong with bagels from Rosen’s, Nervous Charlie’s or Wholy Bagel.
