KC throws its first city-run film festival
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Outside of Boone Theater. Photo: Travis Meier/Axios
Kansas City debuts its first city-built film festival this weekend, a two-day pitch that the city that lives for sports should be filming them too.
Why it matters: Film productions mean local money and jobs, and the Full Tilt Film Festival aims to attract more of them by bringing in actors and decision makers from across the sports and film industries.
How it works: The festival runs Friday and Saturday as an industry summit built around documentaries, dramas and athlete-made projects reshaping sports media. It comes from the KC Film Office, the city agency that recruits movie and TV productions.
- Friday's events are at Union Station, where cast members from the TV football drama "Friday Night Lights" will mark the show's 20th anniversary.
- Saturday moves to the historic 18th and Vine jazz district, filling the Gem Theater, the Blue Room and the Boone Theater.
- The night ends with the world premiere of "Chasing Goals," a documentary about refugee kids on a KC youth soccer team, co-produced by Trevor Noah's Day Zero Productions and Chiefs production company Foolish Club Studios.
What they're saying: Missouri's 2023 film tax credit changed more for KC than any TV show, film office director Rachel Kephart tells Axios: "KC never really had a seat at the table before."
- "Kansas City has always been a sports town, but we're quickly becoming a creative capital too," said Kephart.
Stunning stat: The film office estimates projects in 2025 pumped $24 million into KC, counting crews hired, hotel nights booked and locations rented.
Follow the money: States compete for productions with tax incentives, and in this metro they split down the state line.
- Missouri's program, passed in 2023, offers productions a tax credit worth 20% to 42% of qualifying in-state expenses, capped at $16 million a year. The state used nearly all of it last year.
- Kansas City, Missouri, adds its own local tax rebate of up to 12%.
Yes, but: Kansas isn't there yet. Its film incentive bill came up short in the Legislature this spring after passing the Senate.
Fun fact: When the Sundance Film Festival went hunting for a new home, the KC Film Office explored bidding before deciding it "didn't quite feel right" for this city, Kephart wrote in an April blog post.
If you go: Passes and single tickets are on sale, with door sales if seats remain. Every screening ends with a Q&A; Saturday's venues sit within walking distance of each other; and local food trucks will be in the district.
What's next: Kephart says Year One is about "proving the concept." The office wants Full Tilt to become an annual event.