In 2026, the Kansas City Film Festival International (KCFFI) celebrated its 30th anniversary. In 1996, Fred Andrews, a local film booster in Kansas City, created the Filmmakers Jubilee to allow independent filmmakers in the area to share their work. The Jubilee would eventually become the Kansas City Film Festival, one of the biggest film festivals in the state of Missouri.
In honor of the special occasion, the Kansas City Film Office and other organizers made the decision to hold the festival in mid-September rather than the usual spring date so that they would have the ability to prepare some special events for this year's festival. This meant that while there were fewer films shown than in previous years, there were more opportunities to engage with filmmakers.
Friday, September 18
The opening night was one of the less eventful days. This film festival doesn't have any sort of opening ceremony, so all showings are available from the get-go. I spent about an hour networking in the Filmmakers Lounge before heading to my screenings.
That night I attended a Narrative Shorts Block which included the following short films:
The Making of the Breath of Life
Following the shorts block, I attended a screening of the feature documentary Seized, which I had been looking forward to after hearing about it from one of my professors who worked on the film and after director Sharon Liese spoke about the film at my school a week prior.
I enjoyed this more laid-back opening night as I knew that I had an eventful day ahead.
Saturday, September 19
Filmmakers Panel
The second day of the festival opened with a Filmmakers Panel. I assumed this would be a more traditional panel where the audience would be allowed to ask a few of the filmmakers questions, but instead this panel was more of a roundtable.
All attendees were included in the discussion and given the opportunity to introduce themselves, explain their role in a film at the festival (if applicable), and ask questions of the other filmmakers in attendance. Filmmakers of all ages had questions as some were students and others were coming into the industry later in life.
This event gave everyone the opportunity to learn from one another as well as have an easier avenue to networking. I was happy to meet my fellow filmmakers and hopefully some new friends!
Disability & Diversity Panel
The following panel was a discussion of disability inclusion on-screen and on sets. The panelists represented a wide range of the disability spectrum and advocated for research and inclusion to not only give a greater sense of authenticity to storytelling, but also help everyone take part in the art form.
"It's a balance of capturing humanity and protecting dignity"
After the panels, I attended my first screening of the day: The Heartland Student Shorts Block. This is a block specifically meant to showcase student work in Kansas and Missouri. I was eager to see this block because I myself am a student and I had recently met several of the student filmmakers at the panel that morning.
Heartland Student Shorts:
Sunlight
Pedal Faster
Rehab
Particle
Imaginary
Above the Trees
The Sacred Sip
Hex My Ex
The Pitch-A-Thon
After taking a lunch break (which was easy because the entire festival takes place in a mall with many restaurants) I headed back to where the prior panels took place to prepare to pitch a script I wrote for the first Pitch-A-Thon. This is a new event hosted by Women in Film and Media Kansas City where six finalists are given the opportunity to pitch a feature or pilot script to a panel of judges and live audience. You can learn more about my time at the Pitch-A-Thon in an article linked here.
Awards Ceremony
Later, I attended the awards ceremony. Winning filmmakers were awarded prize money, subscriptions to Movie Magic Scheduling, and other useful items. Winning features also had second screenings on Sunday.
Winners:
Heartland High School Student Short: Pedal Faster — Ira Good
Heartland College Student Short: Hex My Ex — Sofia Voss
Narrative Short: Whale 52 — Daniel Neiden
Fred Andrews Emerging Filmmaker Award Sponsored by Jane Andrews: Sueños — Valerie Tiscareno
Rick Cowan Award for Best Cinematic Heartland Film Locations Sponsored by the Kansas City Film Office: Numerology (My Love Scale) — Bart Vandever
Documentary Short: MUKUNÃ APPRENTICE SHAMAN — Rodrigo Sena
Documentary Feature: Burn, Scar — Hillary Bachelder
Narrative Feature: The King of Black Goo — Andrew Zappin
Best Actor in a Narrative Feature Film: Miss Matched — Jonathan Green
Heartland Filmmaker Award: Seized — Sharon Liese
Audience Choice Award for Narrative Feature: Final Interview — Gabriel Oliva
Audience Choice Award for Documentary Feature: Seized — Sharon Liese
The last screening I attended that day was an anniversary screening of the film Kansas City. Given that director Robert Altman was from Kansas City and that the film was also celebrating its 30th anniversary, it was a fun and fitting way to end the night.
Sunday, September 20
The final day of the festival was a quiet one. Very few people wandered the theaters and filmmakers lounge, and I only attended one screening of El Vaquero. This film was a beautiful and relaxing portrait of the main character's life and was a great way to wind down after such an exciting weekend.
Final thoughts
2025's Kansas City Film Festival was the first film festival I'd ever attended, so I was happy to return this year and have one of the best weekends of my life. Kansas City's film community has always been friendly and welcoming, and this is reflected in how organizations built to serve the community treat members, guests, and newcomers.
"The filmmaker comes first"
I hope to see the Kansas City Film Festival thrive for years to come!
