SXSW 2025: GLAAD Sets Critics Panel and “Pipeline Problem” Conversation; Transgender Film Center To Be Honored

GLAAD is headed to Austin for South by Southwest (SXSW)!

The Austin-based conference and festival of tech, culture, music and film & TV is set to for March 7-15 and GLAAD has set a couple of panels in their programming.

Alex Schmider, Senior Director of Entertainment & Transgender Inclusion will moderate the panel titled “The Influence of Critics on an LGBTQ Film’s Life and Impact” which is supported by Rotten Tomatoes, who will also host their “How Film/TV Critics Build Engaged Online Audiences” at the fest as part of The Rotten Tomatoes Lab: Critics Edition, an ongoing series that provides tools and advice for how to build a career as a film/TV critic. Jacqueline Coley, Rotten Tomatoes Awards Editor will moderate.

Schmider, along with LGBTQ film critics and journalists will dive into the increasingly important role of film critics in the life cycle of a film, especially for LGBTQ stories. The panel will unpack how film criticism influences cultural impact on community acceptance and the industry at large.

Using recent examples of controversial awards darlings and underrated LGBTQ film fare, the panelists will weigh in from their respective posts as critics and journalists about responsible media criticism and the role of representation in a broader cultural context. The conversation will also explore how the critic infrastructure is changing, underscoring how diversified voices can definitively shift the trajectory and success of authentic storytelling.

GLAAD’s Senior Director of Brands, Agencies & Engagement Meghan Bartley will participate on the panel titled “Pipeline Problem: How Do We Stop Talking about Diversity” which is slated during the full-day of programming called Content Crossroads, presented by Future Media Hubs x EShap. Other panelists include Evan Shapiro (EShap), Bridget Banton (Dear Creative Gurl) and Sarah Yourgrau (Common Ground Studios) to discuss the missing diversity behind the camera and in executive suites for best reflecting modern-day audiences.

It was recently announced that SXSW will honor Sav Rodgers and the Transgender Film Center with the Community Service Award, which highlights five recipients “working tirelessly on missions much greater than themselves.” Rodgers will be honored alongside Michael Gonzalez (Rural Schools Innovation Zone), Nicole Klepadlo (The Red River Cultural District), Matthew Long ([C]worthy.org), and Anne Filipic (No Kid Hungry).

In addition to its LGBTQ titles initially announced for the Film & TV Festival, SXSW added Daniel Minahan’s On Swift Horses starring Daisy Edgar-Jones, Jacob Elordi, Will Poulter, Diego Calva, and Sasha Calle as the closing night film. This book ends the Film & TV fest which includes opening night film Another Simple Favor and opening night TV premiere, The Studio.

Other notable LGBTQ panels, speakers, and sessions at SXSW include a conversation with the cast and creators of the Emmy award-winning The Last of Us. Bella Ramsey, Pedro Pascal, Gabriel Luna, Kaitlyn Dever, Isabela Merced, and Young Mazino will be joined by Craig Mazin (Co-Showrunner/EP/Writer/Director), and Neil Druckmann (Co-Showrunner/EP/Writer/Director) will talk about the upcoming second season premiering on HBO in April.

In the featured session “Funny AF Comedy Showrunners”, Nahnatchka Khan (Laid) joins Eric Ledgin (St. Denis Medical) for a talk about how to make a seriously funny show. E.R. Fightmaster, Mal Glowenke, Jasmin Savoy Brown, and Jacqueline Toboni will be featured on the panel “Turning Identity into Action: Careers that Change the World” while After Midnight‘s Taylor Tomlinson will bring her humor and insightful social commentary to the SXSW stage.

Arlan Hamilton, founder at Backstage Capital, was also set as a featured speaker. She launched Backstage Capital in 2015 to invest in founders who are people of color, women and/or LGBTQ. In the “Proud Campaigns vs. Pride Campaigns: The New Queer Marketing”, panelists will have a very timely conversation about the future of LGBTQ marketing and turning the focus toward regular brand allyship and authentic community engagement.

GLAAD will update this article as other LGBTQ programming is announced.