Attend, support Tallgrass Film Festival

As Wichita confronts the perception that it is too small or small-minded to have the nice things that big cities have, the fearless Tallgrass Film Festival is back again to prove otherwise.

After drawing more than 12,000 attendees last year – an increase of about a thousand from 2013, and up from 5,000 at the inaugural festival in 2003 – the “stubbornly independent” cultural asset has assembled a 2015 lineup of 203 films representing 35 countries with more than 50 filmmakers and guests.

There will be two world premieres: David Spaltro’s “In the Dark” and Moritz Rechenberg’s “I Am Gangster.” And the festival showings Wednesday through Sunday at mostly downtown venues are only part of Tallgrass’ deep dive into filmmaking at its freshest and most imaginative, with workshops, roundtable discussions and parties also planned. For details and tickets, go to www.tallgrassfilmfest.com.

Tallgrass, which was named by MovieMaker in 2013 as one of the top 25 coolest general film festivals, also works hard to be more than a seasonal pleasure, holding interesting screenings and events year-round.

The festival deserves celebration – and strong attendance and donor support – for the positive way it brings outsiders and attention to Wichita while expanding the film appetites of Wichitans.

For the editorial board, Rhonda Holman

This story was originally published October 13, 2015 at 7:06 PM with the headline "Attend, support Tallgrass Film Festival."