SXSW 2020 (Cancelled on March 6)
Austin’s massive congregation of film, music, and technology, SXSW, was officially cancelled on Friday, March 6. The Climb had been scheduled to play there on Sunday, March 15 in the Festival Favorites section.
Covino was surprised to learn the news, but once the city stepped in to close it down, the gravity of the situation sunk in. Both Covino and Marvin felt a sense of great loss at not being able to bring their first feature to a festival that has supported them over the years.
“Of all the festivals, they’ve probably played the biggest role in our careers before The Climb. Kyle produced a movie that premiered there in 2015 [Babysitter]. I produced a film that premiered there in 2016 [Hunter Gatherer]. It was the first big festival that we ever got into. Even just as producers, it was a launch pad that made us feel like, ‘Now we’re making real films,’ and it gave us a level of credibility to talk about the things we’re making with more confidence,” said Covino.
“We know a bunch of other filmmakers who were bringing their films to premiere there. As soon as we found out, we reached out to find out how they were doing. It was a lot harder on those guys who had planned to release their movies there, than it was for us who were just going to show our film and celebrate American cinema,” noted Marvin.
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