Salem to host 2015 SXSW Film Festival opening party

By Jenny Tang on February 27, 2015 • ( Leave a comment )

WGN America is set to cast a spell on the 22^nd annual South By Southwest Film Conference and Festival (SXSW), by presenting SXSW’s Film Opening Party celebrating the innovative festival and season two of the national cable network’s provocative, supernatural thriller, “Salem.”

Serving as the official opening festivity of SXSW Film, the event, to be held on Friday, March 13, begins at 10 p.m. at the historically haunted Speakeasy on the Avenue, where festival goers will experience an unforgettable ‘witches playground,’ with soothsayers, levitating enchantresses, apothecaries, and more.

“Salem” stars Janet Montgomery (“Made in Jersey,” “Human Target”), Shane West (“Nikita,” “ER”) and Lucy Lawless (“Xena: Warrior Princess,” “Spartacus”) will be on hand at the “Salem” at SXSW celebration.

WGN America will also put the spotlight on the second season of its breakout hit series with an exclusive “Salem” panel & Q&A at the InterContinental Stephen F. Austin Hotel on Saturday, March 14 at 11 a.m. The panel will feature Montgomery, West, Lawless and creator, writer and executive producer Brannon Braga who will pull the curtain back on the sophomore season, debuting Sunday, April 5 at 10:00 p.m. ET/ 9:00 p.m. CT, exclusively on WGN America.

“SXSW is the perfect destination to celebrate this truly unique and captivating series and we couldn’t be more excited to bewitch the festival’s passionate creative community with ‘Salem,’” said Brian Dollenmayer, EVP, Marketing and Promotions, WGN America and Tribune Studios. “SXSW will set the stage for what will be a spectacular season of storytelling for one of our most important franchises.”

From creators and writers Brannon Braga (“Cosmos,” “24”) and Adam Simon (“The Haunting in Connecticut”), “Salem” is a gripping one-hour drama that boldly re-imagines the infamous 17^th century witch trials in colonial Massachusetts.

The series stars Janet Montgomery (“Made in Jersey,” “Human Target”), Shane West (“Nikita,” “ER”), Seth Gabel (“Arrow,” “Fringe”), Ashley Madekwe (“Revenge”), Tamzin Merchant (“Jane Eyre”), Elise Eberle (“The Astronaut Farmer”) and Iddo Goldberg (“Mob City”). New to the cast of “Salem” for season two are Lucy Lawless (“Xena: Warrior Princess”, “Spartacus”), Stuart Townsend (“Betrayal,” “The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen”), Joe Doyle (“Raw”) and Oliver Bell (“The Saint”).

“Salem” is executive produced by Brannon Braga, Adam Simon, Kelly Souders, Brian Peterson and Prospect Park’s Josh Barry and Jeff Kwatinez. Nick Copus directs and serves as co-executive producer. The series is produced by Fox 21 Television Studios.