Stage 13, the award-winning and Emmy-nominated original content studio, brings three panels focused on its original series and feature to the WarnerMedia Rise venue at the SXSW Online 2021 festival starting Tuesday, March 16 through Thursday, March 18.
The two panels are “Family Style: Surviving Production During the Pandemic,” and “Two Sentence Horror Stories: Using Horror to Address Societal Issues,” and the “Behind the Scenes of Snatchers,” making-of video.
This immersive digital experience from WarnerMedia will feature a daily event host, guiding fans through the digital experience with curated content and sessions aligned to three key themes: Closer to Your Heroes, Future Realities, and Culture in Motion.
All content featured within the WarnerMedia Rise experience will be made available to the public until March 20, including those without registration to SXSW Online 2021.
The Stage 13 panels
March 16: Closer to Your Heroes
• Screening: Stage 13 – Behind the Scenes of Snatchers
The Snatchers movie was an official selection at the 2019 SXSW Film Festival and the 2019 Sites Film Festival and was chosen as one of Variety’s “11 Best Movies of the 2019 SXSW Film Festival.”
The Warner Bros. Home Entertainment/Stage 13 original horror-comedy feature film started as a successful short-form digital series that follows status-obsessed teen Sara has sex for the first time. She wakes up the next day nine months pregnant-with an alien.
The film is a Stage 13 presentation with award-winning producer Paul Young for Make Good Content production in association with The Olde Money Boyz. The Snatchers’ new media series was an official selection at Sundance 2017 and won the 2018 Cynopsis Short Form Video Festival, as well as a Bronze Telly Award.
March 17: Future Realities
- Panel: Stage 13 – Family Style: Surviving Production During the Pandemic
Panelists:
Jim Lee, Publisher and Chief Creative Officer, DC
Shari Scorca, EP, and VP, Unscripted Content, Stage 13
Marie Jamora, EP and Director
Philip W. Chung, EP, and Creative Director, YOMYOMF (Justin Lin’s production company)
Lana McKissack, Cast Member, and Foodie Fam
Moderator: Lawrence Yee, Deputy Editor, The Wrap
Stage 13’s digital series “Family Style” explores Asian food and culture, showcasing a diverse array of Asian chefs, celebrities, and foodies across multiple generations, sharing favorite recipes, traditions, and locations representing various Asian backgrounds.
COVID-19 halted Season 2 midway through production, but Stage 13 was able to finish production and distribution virtually. During the shutdown, they created #stage13supports, an award-winning campaign to promote Asian-owned restaurants and small businesses on social media.
This panel will touch on topics including the diversity in front of and behind the camera, how the producers responded to COVID-19 and completed the series virtually, and the impact of the #stage13supports community campaign.
March 18: Culture in Motion
• Panel: Stage 13 – Two Sentence Horror Stories: Using Horror to Address Societal Issues
Panelists:
Vera Miao, Creator, and Executive Producer
Chase Joynt, Director, “Elliot”
Kimani Ray Smith, Director, “Bag Man” & “Manifest Destiny”
Melody Cooper, Writer, “Ibeji” & “Quota”
Elaine Chin, SVP, Scripted Content, Stage 13
Moderator: Crystal Ro, Senior Editor, BuzzFeed
The Stage 13/The CW Network series “Two Sentence Horror Stories” is a horror anthology series that features a different horror sub-genre in each episode. Inspired by the two-sentence horror story literary genre, the series subverts classic horror tropes by centering on everyday people and diverse perspectives while tapping into universal primal fears while tackling provocative social and cultural issues.
The panel of writers, directors, and executives will dive into the process and responsibility of how horror is used and told, using how the series has addressed social issues such as school lockdowns (Bag Man), bullying (Elliot), medical neglect (Ibeji), inhumane warehouse conditions (“Quota”), and drug addiction (Fix).
It will also discuss the series’s intersectional vision to provide an opportunity for a diverse mix of women, people of color, and LGBTQ+ writers, directors, cast, who have traditionally been marginalized in the genre.
The series began as a short-form digital series in 2017 and has consistently prioritized diversity in front of and behind the camera. That vision continues into season three, which will continue to speak to those complex issues with authenticity.
The Stage 13 Audio Collective will be hosting live conversations on Clubhouse each evening at 4 pm PDT / 7 pm EDT with members of both panels and behind-the-scenes content as well.
