Photos: KC FilmFest International to Mark 30th Year With September Festival
The Kansas City program includes narrative and documentary features, shorts, student films, and filmmaker Q&As.
Kansas City FilmFest International's 30th annual festival is happening September 18-20, 2026 at AMC Ward Parkway 14 in Kansas City, Missouri. Tickets and passes are now on sale.
In Honor of Veronica Elliott Loncar
KCFFI will also have an onsite Box Office open one hour each day before the films start Sept. 18-20.
The festival celebrates 30 years of independent film, bringing together filmmakers and stories from Kansas City, across the Heartland, and around the world. Selected from more than 350 submissions, this year's program features narrative and documentary features, shorts, student films, premieres, filmmaker Q&As and special events — plus a 30th anniversary retrospective screening of Robert Altman's Kansas City.
The festival is sponsored by the City of Kansas City, Missouri.
A celebratory brunch is planned for Sunday, Sept. 20, marking the festival's history from Kansas City Filmmakers Jubilee to Film Fest KC, to Kansas City Film Festival International, revisiting its founding in 1996 and highlights from each decade with special guests. The brunch includes a buffet and drinks.
How to Fest
Sept. 18-20, 2026
AMC Ward Parkway 14 Theatres
Visit the website at kcfilmfest.org to see the film guide and schedule.
Buy individual tickets or a pass online. The Gold All-Access Pass allows access to as many movies as attendees like and includes exclusive access to the Filmmakers' Lounge. KCFFI will also have an onsite Box Office open one hour each day before the films start Sept. 18-20.
Brunch tickets are available here.
The festival also shared bittersweet news heading into this record-breaking 30th season: longtime Executive Director Veronica Elliott Loncar stepped down from the organization last year.
Loncar joined Kansas City FilmFest International 14 years ago as a coordinator before quickly rising to Executive Director. Through the years, she helped the festival survive a merger, numerous location changes, COVID, and much, much more. She was awarded the Kansas City Women in Film and TV Spirit Award in 2020 for her deep dedication to the festival and the filmmaking community in which it takes place. Kevin Mullin, Board Chair, said, 'Without Veronica, the Kansas City FilmFest International would not be what it is today.'
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