SXSW London days four and five highlights included the premiere of Joshua Tickell and Rebecca Harrell Tickell’s Bee Wild, a visit from His Majesty King Charles III, Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, Madame Gandhi, Dina Asher-Smith, and Grégory Boutté, Chief Innovation Officer at Kering – the fashion house behind Gucci, Balenciaga, and Saint Laurent.
On day four of South by Southwest® (SXSW®) London, Joshua Tickell and Rebecca Harrell Tickell’s (Kiss the Ground) new documentary, Bee Wild, a beautiful, urgent and engrossing film about the heroes of our skies, Bees, premiered at Curzon Hoxton. Executive produced by Angelina Jolie with an introduction and stunning original music by Ellie Goulding, the Tickell’s film is an urgent rallying cry for us all to protect the Bees that feed us, Bees that pollinate 75% of the world’s crops and keep our delicate ecological system ticking. But it is also a celebration of our flying friends and the diversity of the population, with over 20,000 species across the globe.
Like all of the Tickell’s documentaries, Bee Wild avoids the classic bad news cliff-edge that often leads viewers to experience a sense of hopelessness when discussing environmental issues and concerns; instead, this film is emblazoned with hope. Hope that we can all do our part in creating environments where Bees can thrive. A belief that together, we can campaign for and encourage the end of Neonicotinoid pesticides, which are killing the heroes of our skies (the UK government has already limited their use and is now moving to a full ban). And a passionate call to return to natural farming methods that work harmoniously with nature and protect the insect ecosystem and us, the consumers.
Joshua Tickell and Rebecca Harrell Tickell are committed to ensuring Bee Wild is free to view for schools, explaining during the Q&A post-screening at Curzon Hoxton, “We hold back rights to all of our films, and we make sure that we keep educational rights so that they can be free to schools, and that’s where we’ve seen the biggest difference.” But there is also hope that, like their previous documentaries Kiss the Ground and Common Ground, Bee Wild will find a home on a streaming platform, even if most platforms don’t know how to promote environmental and educational documentaries as Joshua Tickell explained, “Streamers don’t know how to deal with the tens of millions of viewers our films get because their algorithms aren’t designed for hope.”
I hope Bee Wild finds a home on Prime, Netflix or Apple, but I can’t help but feel this documentary also deserves a place on traditional broadcast platforms like the BBC and Channel 4 to reach the broadest audience possible.
Bee Wild is beautiful, bold, brilliant and breathtaking, much like our tiny heroes of the sky who nurture our natural world, bring life to our meadows, feed us, and work tirelessly to sustain the beauty and wonder of our spinning ark in space.
Also on day four of SXSW London, His Majesty King Charles III was greeted in Ely’s Yard with a performance by The Kingdom Choir before being met by Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, the Mayor of London, Sir Sadiq Khan, and the organisers of SXSW London. His Majesty visited SXSW London’s Truman Brewery space to view artist Damian Roach’s immersive art installation ‘Grounding’, which uses AI and data to continuously morph landscape images, then travelled to another of SXSW London’s 34 venues – Christ Church Spitalfields – to view the exhibition Beautiful Collisions, which explores the contribution from the Caribbean to British art and culture.
(Photo by Jack Taylor/Getty Images for SXSW London)
Earlier on day four, Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner was joined by Kristina Murrin, CEO of The King’s Foundation and Dean of Oxford University Ngaire Woods for a panel discussion which explored how the design and regeneration of places — from housing and infrastructure to green space and cultural assets — can shape healthier, more connected communities. Expanding on her ambition to future proof housing, Rayner said, “I have a very stretched target of building 1.5 million homes in this parliament, but not just whacking up units and seeing them as assets but actually homes and communities that people want to live in…” she continued, “It’s not an either or – you have to build homes which are fit for the future but also deliver what we need because we have a housing crisis here in the UK which to be honest is a challenge for many governments not just here in the UK but across Europe and elsewhere.”
In ‘Building Trust in the Age of Information Overload,’ moderated by James Armitage (Sunday Times), Jimmy Wales, founder of Wikipedia, told Elon Musk to “bring it on.” Recalling the day that Musk said that Wikipedia should be defunded, Wales told the crowd the platform went on to make “$7 million that day”. The talk went on to explore the future of information integrity in an era defined by algorithms, deepfakes and relentless noise.
Meanwhile, OnlyFans CEO Keily Blair explored the platform’s transformative role in the creator economy, highlighting its commitment to empowering creators through direct monetisation and strong safety protocols. She emphasised the platform’s unique 80/20 revenue split and its staggering £20 billion payout to creators, noting that the business has become a UK tech success story, surpassing the UK fishing industry in terms of revenues. Blair addressed the stigma surrounding adult content, advocating for more respectful language and greater acceptance of creators’ autonomy. Reflecting on her leadership, she remarked, “Our success is only possible if our creators continue to succeed,” underscoring the platform’s creator-first philosophy. She also discussed OnlyFans’ policies on AI-generated content, its privacy-first approach, and the expansion into mainstream media through OFTV.
Day five of SXSW London saw Dina Asher-Smith presented with a surprise sports award on stage as part of the London Icons of the Year awards in association with SXSW London and the Mayor’s Office. Following an inspirational fireside discussion with Editor-in-Chief of ELLE UK, Kenya Hunt, which delved into how powerful women in sport are influencing high fashion as well as Dina Asher-Smith’s impressive career on and off the track, this session felt like the perfect time to recognise her extraordinary contributions to sport as a beacon for London success.
Meanwhile, Grégory Boutté, Chief Innovation Officer at Kering – the fashion house behind Gucci, Balenciaga and Saint Laurent – discussed the role of digital and AI in the luxury fashion industry at Shoreditch Town Hall noting that they are “very open to using digital platforms, AI and data if it benefits us, but it will not replace creatives or customer service”. Grégory Boutté was clear that digital was not going to replace the shopping experience, which they hold dearly in the luxury fashion industry, so much so that it’s labelled the selling ceremony. “While Gucci.com is the window to the world, it’s the first point of contact for the customer”, and “they want to make it delightful for the customers who want to shop online”, while also, most importantly, “driving traffic to the stores”. However, Kering does not believe in “doing it for the sake of doing it, they’re doing it with a purpose,” whether “it’s predicting how new collections will sell to ensure there’s zero excess at the end of the season or making the supply chain more efficient.” adding “AI must bring value and deliver a better service for customers” at the end of the day.
(Photo by Antony Jones/Getty Images for SXSW London)
Also on day five, Madame Gandhi, a musician, creative, and climate activist, talked about using the sound of nature to create music. Gandhi explained how she uses her music as a catalyst for ecological awareness. Expanding, she said that she is currently “using technology to solve the problem that technology has caused” by utilising the sound of climate destruction from “glacier melting” to “penguin trap music,” including her latest song Rise! Ft nature. Reflecting on the motivations behind her work, Madame Gandhi said it’s “an antidote to modern anxiety and depression” and a “way to give back to the planet”.
Finally, TV Personality, Broadcaster, and Host Olivia Attwood was featured as a special guest on ‘The Pieces with Bimini’ at SXSW London, which was recorded live at Shoreditch Town Hall on Friday. Joining Drag Queen, Author, Recording Artist and Model Bimini on stage, the two unpacked Olivia Attwood’s multifaceted career in the entertainment industry and reality television, cosmetic surgery and the current “movement around ‘natural’ beauty which is sophisticated to the point that its undetectable,” and their personal experiences with ADHD. Opening up to the audience by sharing her own struggles with ADHD, Olivia stated how “more than less people in the entertainment industry are neurodiverse” and that she’s incredibly grateful for her diagnosis as now she has “tools in [her] kit to make it easier”.
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