Tallgrass was founded in 2002 and is Kansas's largest independent film festival. Named a top 25 Coolest Film Fest and Top 50 Film Festival Worth the Entry Fee for multiple years by MovieMaker Magazine, the festival is a hallmark of the region’s cinematic landscape and an internationally recognized, multi-day platform for world-class cinematic programming.
The festival brings sophisticated movie-goers of all ages and backgrounds - hungry for quality independent film - audiences are receptive, opinionated, and genuine. Screening a film at Tallgrass catalyzes awareness and buzz in the country's epicenter that radiates throughout the region. The visiting filmmakers are also accessible at Tallgrass. Due to the city’s authentic nature, it’s common to find an Oscar-winning filmmaker deep in conversation with a high school documentarian or an avid movie-goer.

AWARDS & PRIZES
Tallgrass Film Festival will grant juried awards in the following categories.
Unless the prize amount is noted below, Cash and other in-kind prizes are pending until sponsorship is approved in 2025. We strive for equity in gender representation across all categories.

-Gordon Parks Award for Black Excellence in Filmmaking - Feature Film: $5,000 (Presented by Cargill).
-Gordon Parks Award for Black Excellence in Filmmaking - Short Film
-Stubbornly Independent Feature
-Best Narrative Feature
-Best Documentary Feature
-Best Kansas Feature Film
-Best Murmurations Feature
-Best Murmurations Short
-Best Kansas Filmmaker Documentary Short Film
-Best Kansas Filmmaker Narrative Short Film
-Best Emerging Documentary Short
-Best Emerging Narrative Short
-Best Narrative Short
-Best Documentary Short
-Best Animation Vortex Short
-Best Experimental Vortex Short
-Best Music Video

Non-Juried Awards:
-Audience Favorite Documentary Feature
-Audience Favorite Narrative Feature
-Audience Favorite Narrative Short
-Audience Favorite Documentary Short
-Audience Favorite Vortex Film
-Audience Favorite Kansas Film

Programming Awards(determined by Programming Team):
-Outstanding Courage in Filmmaking
-Outstanding Cinematography
-Outstanding Editing
-Outstanding Art Direction
-Outstanding Sound Design

A KANSAS PREMIERE IS REQUIRED FOR FEATURE FILMS. IF YOUR FILM PLAYS IN ANY KANSAS FILM FESTIVAL BEFORE OCTOBER 16, 2025, YOUR FILM IS AUTOMATICALLY DISQUALIFIED FROM CONSIDERATION.

World and US Premieres are not required.

- Films screened in the USA before June 2024 cannot be considered in competition categories.

NEW IN 2025: ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE USE:
The use of AI is limited to the human-prompted creation or guidance of visual and audio material ONLY. The use of AI tools for direction, writing, or editing is NOT allowed.
Submissions that use AI within the festival's rules must include PDFs or screenshots of the prompts and responses generated by AI tools. AI tools must also be included in credits.
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Submitting to a second category is unnecessary, as programmers will contact you regarding additional categories as needed. Please use your money wisely.
The festival will determine the final competition section, which will be indicated in the invitation email. Some films may be invited to compete in more than one category. The festival reserves the right to determine final category eligibility.

The festival does not screen films that are available commercially on VOD at the time of the festival. Generally, films that are available for free online are also not considered. However, the festival reserves the right to make exceptions to this rule.

The festival will consider works-in-progress, films with temporary soundtracks, and digital outputs. Filmmakers must deliver the final cut before the extended deadline for their submissions to be considered.

Films with missing/broken links will be marked as incomplete, and if no response is given after a request for an updated file is sent, they will be disqualified after 2 weeks.

For films submitted using the "Student Fee," a valid copy of a school ID is necessary to qualify for the reduced fee; failure to include a valid student ID will make the submission incomplete.

– – – SCREENING/PRESENTATION TERMS OF AGREEMENT – – –
Final exhibition media MUST include open captioning (yes, even non-dialogue films).

- All films in a language other than English must be subtitled in English for festival presentation.

Tallgrass Film Festival is granted the right to utilize an excerpt from any film submitted and accepted for exhibition at the Festival for promotional purposes.

The individual or corporation submitting the film hereby warrants that it is authorized to commit the film for screening and understands and accepts these requirements and regulations. If the film is selected for exhibition, it may be made available online via our virtual festival platform with a ticket-split agreement with the filmmaker.

The individual or corporation submitting the film shall indemnify and hold harmless Tallgrass Film Festival from and against any and all claims, liabilities, losses, damages, and expenses (including but not limited to attorney's fees and court costs) that may be incurred by reason of any claim involving copyright, trademark, credits, publicity, screening, and loss of or damage to the screening videos entered.

Should your film be accepted, we ask permission to keep a copy for our festival library. This request is voluntary and not conditional. The copy in the TFF library will not be used for profit. Should we consider re-screening the film for a public paid event, we will notify individuals or corporations representing the film for permission and conditions.

Withdrawal after acceptance into the festival may mean incurred costs, which we will pass on to you.

WAIVER POLICY: Please do not contact us requesting waivers or reduced submission fees. As a nonprofit organization, our annual operations and the process of evaluating the volume of submissions we receive are very costly. We strive to keep our fees as reasonable as possible and encourage all applicants to take advantage of our early and official deadlines to save on submission fees.

*We can consider your request if your film comes from a country affected by US financial sanctions. Requests can only be considered during the regular deadline period.

All rules are subject to discretion by the festival.

Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Very happy that HOLD ON FOR DEAR LIFE by Simone Fiorentino was included in the Official Selection of Tallgrass 2024!

    December 2024
  • Kirk Howle

    Everyone I know who had been to Tallgrass before told me that Tallgrass was THE most fun film fest they had ever attended. Based on that recommendation, I went, and I was not disappointed. Wichita is an excellent city with plenty of unique tourist attractions, all the screening locations are walkable distance from each other, the volunteers are all super nice and very cool people, and there is plenty of free food, coffee, and booze to keep you having a great time. I met some amazing new friends at this fest who I will keep in my life going forward. It didn't feel cliquey or ultra-competitive like some fests I've been to; it felt like everyone was rooting for each other's success. A very positive and energizing vibe that made me want to keep making more films. Go if you can!

    November 2024
  • Monica Honey

    It was an honor to be featured at the Tallgrass Film Festival. Every interaction with them was communicative, kind, and welcoming. I met so many wonderful people and can't wait to attend next year. :)

    November 2024
  • JUSTIN RHODY

    Great festival. Was really happy to attend in person.

    November 2024
  • This is hands-down the best festival I have ever attended—as both a filmmaker and an audience member. Tallgrass pulls out the stops to celebrate every filmmaker there and has amazing amenities and networking opportunities. I hope I can come back in future fests!

    November 2024