Peter Debruge came aboard as director of the SXSW Film & TV Festival this past spring, following a 20-year run at Variety, where he served as Chief Film Critic. Debruge is renowned for championing emerging talents like Barry Jenkins and Chloé Zhao through Variety’s “10 Directors to Watch.” He also co-founded the Animation Is Film Festival, has served on juries from Reykjavik to São Paulo, and was named a French Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters.