Biography

For fifteen years, from April 2008 to Oct 2022, Janet Pierson was responsible for the vision, programming, and execution of the SXSW Film Festival (now SXSW Film & TV Festival) and the film and episodic focused content within the SXSW Conference. As of October 2022, she transitioned to Director Emeritus for SXSW, with a strong involvement in programming and mentorship for the 2023 event.

In 2023 the inaugural Janet Pierson Champion Award presented by IndieWIRE was created to be presented in her honor each year at SXSW.

Before joining SXSW for the 2009 event, Janet spent over 30 years championing independent films and filmmakers in a variety of roles including exhibitor, producer's rep, financier, co-creator + executive producer, + segment director of the IFC cable TV series Split Screen, (now available on the Criterion Channel). She appears in Steve James's Documentary, Reel Paradise, and Andrew Bujalski's Beeswax. She loved curating In The Dark: Filmmakers Illuminate, Stories from the Film World for The Moth in 2001.

In 2023 she was inducted into the Texas Film Hall of Fame at the Texas Film Awards presented by the Austin Film Society along with her husband, John Pierson. She was also invited to become a member of the Academy (AMPAS). Previously Pierson made The Guardian's Film Power 100 list in 2010 and 2013's Indiewire Influencers. She regularly serves on panels and juries for other festivals and agencies including the NEA, ITVS, BFI, and Creative Capital. She is a member of the Austin Film Society Advisory Board and UT Press Advisory Board.

- IMDb Mini Biography By: Janet Pierson

For fifteen years, from April 2008 to Oct 2022, Janet Pierson was responsible for the vision, programming, and execution of the SXSW Film Festival and the film and episodic focused content within the SXSW Conference. As of October 2022, she transitioned to Director Emeritus for SXSW, with a strong involvement in programming and mentorship while she continues to champion and support emerging and established filmmakers.

Before joining SXSW for the 2009 event, Janet spent over 30 years championing independent films and filmmakers in a variety of roles, often with her husband, the author of Spike, Mike, Slackers & Dykes, John Pierson, including exhibitor, producer's rep, financier, co-creator + executive producer + segment director of the IFC cable TV series Split Screen, now streaming on the Criterion Channel.

She appears in Steve James' Documentary Reel Paradise, and Andrew Bujalski's Beeswax. She loved curating In The Dark: Filmmakers Illuminate, Stories from the Film World for The Moth in 2001.

Pierson made the Guardian's Film Power 100 List in 2010 and 2013's Indiewire Influencers. She regularly serves on panels and juries for other festivals and agencies including the NEA, ITVS, BFI and Creative Capital. She is a member of the Austin Film Society Advisory Board and UT Press Advisory Board

- IMDb Mini Biography By: Janet Pierson