SXSW’s Pierson steps down after 15 years leading film fest

By JAKE COYLE
AP Film Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — After 15 years running SXSW’s film festival, director Janet Pierson is stepping down. Her longtime deputy, Claudette Godfrey, will take over leading the annual Austin, Texas, gathering, one of America’s premier film festivals. SXSW announced the change Wednesday, saying that Pierson, a longtime champion of independent film, will shift to a director emeritus role. That will include serving as a programmer at the next SXSW Film & TV Festival in March 2023. In a statement, Pierson called her years at SXSW “a wonderful and quite unexpected adventure.”