The Kansas City Underground Film Festival is dedicated to bringing the work of independent filmmakers with unique and underappreciated visions to the people of Kansas City.

The Kansas City Underground Film Festival accepts films from every country worldwide in every genre on any topic. Our programming emphasizes low-budget (or no-budget) features and short films across all genres. All films are eligible regardless of completion date or premiere status.

When it comes to evaluating submissions, our programming team highly appreciates creativity, originality, and the presence of a unique voice.

The films selected for the festival will be screened in pairings over a two-week period, with audience and jury awards announced on the final day. These films will include feature-length films (60+ minutes) and a short program (less than 60 minutes). The number of films selected will depend on scheduling and the number of qualifying submissions.

Event dates are subject to change. All submissions will be notified if changes are necessary.

Jury Award for Best Feature
Jury Award for Best Short
Audience Award for Best Feature
Audience Award for Best Short
Five Outstanding Acting Awards
Best in Filmmaking Achievement

By entering the Kansas City Underground Film Festival, you agree to follow its rules and guidelines.

• We consider films regardless of premiere status. Even if your film has premiered at another festival, it’s still eligible.
• We consider work in progress films.
• We accept films in any language, but only speak English. If your film is not in English, make sure it has English subtitles available.
• Accepted filmmakers must own rights to their film and all its components by the time of the festival.
• If accepted, all entrants are responsible for delivering the final copy of their film and other materials, such as: trailer, press stills, and press-kit, by the deadline.
• If accepted, filmmakers are encouraged to attend the festival. Unfortunately, at this time, The Kansas City Underground Film Festival does not provide room, board or travel for filmmakers.
• All accepted filmmakers will be given the opportunity to engage in an audience Q&A either digitally or in person.
• The Kansas City Underground Film Festival will be granted the right to use still images and short video clips (less than 30 seconds) of all accepted films in any festival promotional materials.

Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Adrian Anderson

    A one of a kind festival run by people who really, really care. Fantastic communication and support from Willy and the whole team. Can't recommend enough.

    November 2023
  • Jordy Brazo

    Thankful to be included in KCUFF and the great collection of films that were shown this year!

    October 2023
  • Very well-organized and -promoted festival with kind, dedicated founders who went out of their way to help filmmakers feel welcome in Kansas City. Classy venue, cool t-shirts, solid community atmosphere. Post-screening interviews were thoughtful, and programming was curated well to put like-minded works together. Overall a great experience. Thank you for including WORK DREAMS as an official feature selection.

    October 2023
  • Sjoerd van Wijk

    Unfortunately I wasn't able to attend the festival. The e-mail communication started out welcoming and clearly enthusiastic. Sadly, further communication was slow and/or unclear when I asked for information on sharing my film files and revenue sharing.

    October 2023
  • Sean Kenealy

    Had a blast at KCUFF 2023! Such a fun event. Will definitely submit future works. Thanks again for accepting our short "Two Knocks on a Door."

    September 2023