SXSW Sydney has revealed an impressive line-up of names to join its 2025 list of speakers, with acclaimed Hollywood filmmaker Paul Feig, and former Chief Business Officer of Google X and host of mental health podcast, Slo Mo: A Podcast with Mo Gawdat, Mo Gawdat.
Tech entrepreneur and the world’s youngest self-made female billionaire, Lucy Guo is also among the acclaimed group of keynote speakers alongside Lars Rasmussen, co-founder of Google Maps, and Niall Firth, Executive Editor of MIT Technology Review.
At SXSW Sydney, Firth will break down the biggest technologies, trends, and ideas shaping AI in 2026, from autonomous agents to AGI.
(Clockwise from left): Mo Gawdat, Paul Feig, Lars Rasmussen, Niall Firth and Lucy Guo have been named as speakers at SXSW Sydney, 2025.
They join previously announced speaker Meredith Whittaker, President of Signal, as the festival aims to bring some of the world’s most interesting and influential minds across film, technology, business and creativity to Sydney. Walkley Award-winning investigative journalist and author Jess Hill, marketing expert Neil Patel, Lieutenant General Michelle McGuinness CSC, and GoFundMe CEO, Tim Cadogan also join the line-up.
Feig is best known for directing Bridesmaids and creating the cult TV hit Freaks and Geeks. During the festival, he will be honoured with the first-ever SXSW Sydney Screen Pioneer Award, recognising his contributions to genre storytelling and his influence on modern comedy.
To mark the occasion, a retrospective of his work will screen as part of the festival’s expanding film program.
With a background across IBM, Microsoft, and Google, Gawdat has become a globally recognised thinker on the intersection of technology, happiness, and human potential. He will bring his big-picture thinking to the stage, while Guo, founder of creator platform Passes, will share insights from the sharp edge of tech entrepreneurship.
What’s new across Screen, Games and Conference festivals
The Screen Festival has announced six new feature films for its 2025 slate. These are By Design (starring Juliette Lewis), $POSITIONS, Dead Lover, Zodiac Killer Project, The Last Sacrifice and Bokshi. The shorts program also packs star power, with Oscar-winner Sam Rockwell producing Chasing The Party, and the BAFTA-nominated Stomach Bug also set to screen.
The Games Festival Showcase has also confirmed its first 40 titles from 26 countries. These games will be available to play-test and demo at the Games Festival’s new home at the ICC Sydney.
In addition, more than 30 speakers and mentors will share their expertise through panels, hands-on workshops and one-on-one mentoring sessions, with the first wave of sessions covering everything from indie marketing and global publishing to creative resilience and the future of storytelling in games.
On the conference front, SXSW Sydney has locked in more than 50 sessions and over 100 speakers, covering topics like AI acceleration, cybersecurity, sustainability, the future of work, and how creative industries are adapting to new technologies and behaviours.
Big partners, bigger program
Returning in 2025 as Major Conference Partners are QMS, overseeing the Marketing & Media track, and Accenture, leading the Tech & Innovation stream.
They’re joined by new and returning partners including The Growth Distillery, CyberCX, Charitabl, and Commonwealth Bank, back for a third year.
The full event of SXSW Sydney runs from October 13–19, 2025 with a program featuring:
- 400+ conference sessions
- 150+ professional development sessions
- 300+ music performances
- 95+ film screenings
- 150+ playable games
- 400+ brand activations and partner events
More information about the Tech & Innovation Festival can be found here, and more about the Conference can be found here.