South by Southwest Conference and Festivals has launched its 2019 campaign, with the opening of Film Festival submissions and Music Showcasing Artist applications for next year’s event.

Founded in 1987 in Austin, Texas, SXSW is best known for its conference and allied festivals that celebrate the convergence of the interactive, film, and music industries. The event overall features sessions, showcases, screenings, exhibitions, and a variety of networking opportunities. SXSW 2019 is scheduled to take place from March 8 to 17, 2019.

In March 2018, Irish acts Touts, The Lost Brothers, The Strypes (pictured above), Saint Sister, Le Galaxie, Talos, Joshua Burnside, The Academic and Dermot Kennedy all performed at the festival.

Over its full week-long run, the SXSW Music Festival showcased 2,057 artists on 100 stages, featuring 569 international acts – representing a total of 66 countries outside the US. Ireland’s representation of nine acts is just above the overall average. The 7-day SXSW official music showcase attendance totaled 161,000 at 2,729 total performances. Performers were selected from a total of 6,678 applicants.

Artists can now apply to showcase at the 2019 Music Festival directly through SXSW. The application period finally closes on October 25, 2018. Artists can apply early at a discounted rate.

The SXSW Film Festival, meanwhile, screened 136 features and 172 shorts in 8 venues across Austin. Films were selected from a total of 8,169 submissions. The Feature Film slate screened 108 World Premieres, 19 North American Premieres, and 6 U.S. Premieres.

The SXSW Film Festival is now accepting Feature Film, Short Film, Episodic, Music Video, and Virtual Cinema submissions until the closing date of October 18, 2018.