For its 22nd edition, Tallgrass Film Festival hosts more than 129 films in downtown Wichita from October 24-27, 2024.
The festival opens with Luther: Never Too Much, Dawn Porter’s documentary chronicling the life of Luther Vandross, the iconic musical performer, from childhood musical talent to worldwide fame.
The festival will close with Bob Trevino Likes It, Tracie Laymon’s comedy drama film starring Barbie Ferreira and John Leguizamo about a young woman who searches for her estranged father, Bob Trevino, online and forms a bond with a different man of the same name.
“It is a great honor to bring exciting new cinema to the Wichita community. It wouldn’t be possible without all the talented filmmakers from across the world trusting us with their art or without the support of our audiences. Creating a program from 1,700 submissions resulted from thoughtful consideration of our pre-screeners and programmers; their care and attention are reflected well in the quality and scope of this year’s lineup. ” Program Director Andre Seward said.
“This announcement highlights the new name for Emerging Shorts, honoring Thane Chastain, our long-time tech wizard and Emerging Instructor, who we lost in 2023. Also, after working for over a year in partnership with the Orpheum Theatre, the 35MM projector is back up and running and will host Young Frankenstein on film with partner Madame Mae.”
OPENING NIGHT FILM
LUTHER: NEVER TOO MUCH
Presented with the SoulTones
Director: Dawn Porter
Producers: Trish D Chetty, Ged Doherty, Jamie Foxx, Leah Smith, and Datari Turner
Regional Premiere RT 101m/ USA
Chronicles the life of an iconic musical performer, from childhood musical talent to worldwide fame. The film explores his collaborations, influences, character, and relationships with family, friends and fans.
Plays with Take 36 Winner (winner announced on September 29)
CLOSING NIGHT FILM
BOB TREVINO LIKES IT
Director: Tracie Laymon
Producers: Tracie Laymon, Sean Mullin, Edgar Rosa, Felipe Dieppa
Kansas Premiere RT: 102m/USA
BOB TREVINO LIKES IT is inspired by the true friendship that writer/director Tracie Laymon found with a stranger when looking for her father online.
OUT OF COMPETITION DOCUMENTARY FEATURES
HOPE IN THE HEARTLAND
Director: Robert Thomas
Producer: Ryan W. Gates (Executive Producer) and Calvin Shadle (Producer)
World Premiere RT: 110m/USA
As homelessness increases each year in America, Wichita, Kansas, is determined to find a way to address this challenge in their community. City leaders, outreach organizations, and community members have worked independently—two thousand twenty-four collaboration increases, revealing a realistic roadmap to ending chronic homelessness in Wichita. A documentary film crew follows this quest as Wichita seeks to become the next city in America to end chronic homelessness through an innovative approach to collaboration, a housing-first model, and a sense of community. Unhoused and housed community members share their stories, prompting discussions of misconceptions, challenges, and possible solutions. This film is a venture by Project HOPE and the City of Wichita. To learn more, visit wichita.gov/415/Project-HOPE.
LOUD ENOUGH: SURVIVING JUSTICE
Director: Hilary Klotz Steinman
Producers: Heidi Reavis, Steve Engel and Hilary Klotz Steinman
Kansas Premiere RT: 61m/USA
Set against the backdrop of the fifth anniversary of the #MeToo movement, this intimate, personal film follows a sexual assault survivor and her tight-knit family as they fight for justice and systemic change. After surviving a life-threatening sexual assault in her hometown of Lindsborg, Kansas, college freshman Madison Smith and her parents were stunned when the local county prosecutor declined to file charges against the rapist, despite a strong case and compelling physical evidence.
MISSING FROM FIRE TRAIL ROAD
Presented with AlterNative Film Festival
Director: Sabrina Van Tassel
Producers: Sabrina Van Tassel, Deborah Parker
Kansas Premiere RT: 100m/USA
Mary Ellen disappeared over two years ago from the Tulalip Indian reservation near Seattle. Because the investigation is at a standstill, her sisters and other tribal members set off to discover what happened to her. Their quest uncovers a harsh reality: Indigenous women are murdered at an alarming rate. Most crimes go unsolved and are committed by non-natives.
POR EL AMOR A LA CULTURA: FOR THE LOVE OF THE CULTURE
Presented by the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
Director: Julian Azcary Montes
Producers: Chris Green – Executive Editor of The Journal: A Civic Issues Magazine
RT: 56m/USA
The vibrant sounds of salsa music and the movements of Latin dance are thriving in a perhaps unexpected place—Wichita, Kansas. A passionate couple, Miguel Santana-Morales and Elisa Santana-Rosales are a big reason why. They both lead groups that are filling a cultural void. Their journey highlights their artistic talents and the unique challenges Latino entrepreneurs face in the arts.
THE SPIRIT OF HALLOWEENTOWN
Director: Bradford Thomason, Brett Whitcomb
Producers: Brett Whitcomb, Bradford Thomason, Rebecca Sheehan
Regional Premiere RT: 94m/USA
In 1998, the Disney Channel Original Movie “Halloweentown” was filmed in St. Helens, Oregon. Since then, the town has become a de facto Halloween destination, with over 50,000 visitors each October. “The Spirit of Halloweentown” is an observational portrait of St. Helens 25 years later, focusing on its residents as they transform the town and navigate their inescapable identity.
TEACHES OF PEACHES
Director: Philipp Fussenegger, Judy Landkammer
Producers: Cordula Kablitz-Post
Kansas Premiere RT: 102m/Germany
This documentary blends exclusive archival gems with dynamic tour footage to capture Peaches’ transformative journey on ‘The Teaches of Peaches Anniversary Tour’ in 2022. From stage show inception to riveting performances, it offers an intimate look at the inner workings of feminist icon Peaches, a fearless force challenging gender norms for over two decades. Her biting wit advocates for LGBTQIA+ rights and confronts societal stereotypes, leaving an indelible mark on popular culture.
The short film EL CACHARRICO[THE PILEUP] plays with TEACHES OF PEACHES
Director: Oscar Toribio Carbayo RT: 12m/Spain
OUT-OF-COMPETITION NARRATIVE FEATURE
BAJO NARANJA [UNDERGROUND ORANGE]
Director: Michael Taylor Jackson
Producers: Godfrey Reggio, James Lefkowitz, Joel Pincosy, Manuela Alewaerts, Florencia Franco, Jimena Monteoliva, Michael Taylor Jackson
Kansas Premiere RT: 85m/Argentina
A Californian backpacker becomes entangled in a polyamorous relationship with a gang of young actors who plot to kidnap the US Ambassador to Argentina.
The short THE INTERIOR FRONTIER plays with BAJO NARANJA.
Director: Justin Clifford Rhody | RT: 20m | USA
THEY CALL HER DEATH
Director: Austin Snell
Producers: Austin Snell, Adam Jeffers, Jack Jackson
RT: 93m/USA
On the wild frontier of the American prairie, Molly Pray is on a bloody crusade against the criminal forces that have wronged her. She shows no mercy, leaving a trail of bodies in her wake on a mission that ultimately strikes at the heart of the American identity and the notion of manifest destiny.
The short film HOW TO SKIN A CHEETAH plays with THEY CALL HER DEATH
Director: Meghan O’Shaughness | RT 20m | Ireland
YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN on 35MM with Madame Mae Presentation
Director: Mel Brooks
RT: 106M/USA
An American grandson of the infamous scientist, struggling to prove that his grandfather was not as insane as people believe, is invited to Transylvania, where he discovers the process that reanimates a dead body.
IN COMPETITION DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
CAREFULLY TAUGHT
Director: Cynthia Kao
Producers: Cynthia Kao
Kansas Premiere RT: 78m/ USA
Carefully Taught is a thought-provoking and, at times, comedic documentary that reveals the intricate web between US policies, Asian stereotypes, and media representation. Experts and artists deconstruct these images and share personal stories about their impact on individual lives. A timely countermeasure for rising Sinophobia in the West, this film confronts the surge in anti-Asian hate crimes and issues a powerful call for societal and individual reconstruction.
NAKED AMBITION
Director: Dennis Scholl & Kareem Tabsch
Producer: Dennis Scholl, Kareem Tabsch, Konstantia Kontaxis
Kansas Premiere RT: 73/USA
Bunny Yeager, once heralded as the world’s prettiest photographer, greatly influenced 20th-century pop culture, though few people know her name. Whether by popularizing the bikini, helping discover Bettie Page, shaping the image of Playboy, or inventing the selfie, Bunny was a trailblazer whose work bucked against conservative 1950s America and helped pave the way for the feminist movement and the sexual revolution.
NO ONE ASKED YOU
Director: Ruth Leitman
Producer: Ruth Leitman, Rachel Rozycki, Andrea Raby. EPs Halle Adelman, Caryn Capotosto Co EPs Chandra Jessee, Rebecca Lichtenfeld
Kansas Premiere RT:100/USA
Comedian, disruptor-extraordinaire Lizz Winstead (co-creator of The Daily Show), and Abortion Access Front crisscross the U.S. to support abortion clinic staff and bust stigma. Pop culture icons and next-gen comics fuel this six-year road film activating small-town folks to rebuild vandalized clinics, exposing wrongdoer politicians, anti-abortion extremists, and media neglect as the race to the bottom ensues. A bold call to action reminds us that joy will prevail even as our rights burn down.
The short film SUPER HIGH: A PERIOD PIECE plays Before No One Asked YOU
Director: Bianca D. Lambert/RT: 9m/ USA
NO OTHER LAND
Director Basel Adra, Hamdan Ballal, Yuval Abraham & Rachel Szor
Producers: Fabien Greenberg & Bård Kjøge Rønning
Basel Adra, Hamdan Ballal, Yuval Abraham & Rachel Szor
Regional Premiere
RT: 96m Country: Norway, Palestine
Basel Adra, a young Palestinian activist from Masafer Yatta, has been fighting his community’s mass expulsion by the Israeli occupation since childhood. Basel documents the gradual erasure of Masafer Yatta as soldiers destroy the homes of families – the most significant single act of forced transfer ever carried out in the occupied West Bank. He crosses paths with Yuval, an Israeli journalist who joins his struggle, and for over half a decade, they fight against the expulsion while growing closer. The extreme inequality between them haunts their complex bond: Basel, living under a brutal military occupation, and Yuval, unrestricted. This film, by a Palestinian-Israeli collective of four young activists, was co-created during the darkest, most terrifying times in the region as an act of creative resistance to Apartheid and a search for a path toward equality and justice.
SLICE OF LIFE: THE AMERICAN DREAM. IN FORMER PIZZA HUTS.
Director Matthew Salleh
Producer Rose Tucker
Kansas Premiere
RT: 83 Country: USA
This is a contemporary portrait of America, told through a collection of stories observed within the walls of former Pizza Hut buildings across the country. These nostalgic spaces hold memories of a bygone era, but through the power of transformation, they provide something new and special for the communities that continue to flow through them.
From an LGBTQ+ church in Florida to a karaoke bar in Texas to a cannabis dispensary in rural Colorado, these modern-day portraits parallel the origin story of Pizza Hut—one of America’s most iconic brands—and the two brothers who founded the company in Wichita, Kansas, in 1958.
THE WORLD ACCORDING TO ALLEE WILLIS
Director: Alexis Manya Spraic
Producer: Nicholas Coles
Kansas Premiere. TRT: 97/USA
Look at award-winning songwriter/artist Allee Willis, and you see someone unafraid to be themselves. Dressed in a cacophony of prints and colors, her signature asymmetrical haircut, and famed parties at her real-life Pee-Wee’s Playhouse, Allee didn’t waste any opportunity to tell you what she was about. But privately, Allee struggled with not fitting established gender and sexual norms. She buried herself in her work until true love manifested her ultimate masterpiece – self-acceptance. Allee began filming her life in 1950s Detroit and never stopped. This film is the realization of her wish that her “final art piece be someone putting together the trail I have left behind.”
IN COMPETITION, NARRATIVE FEATURE
LOS FRIKIS
Director: Tyler Nilson & Michael Schwartz
Producers: Phil Lord, Christopher Miller, Jordan Fudge, Jeremy Allen, Rebecca Karch Tomlinson, Aditya Sood, Michael Schwartz, Tyler Nilson
Kansas Premiere RT: 105m/Dominican Republic
Los Frikis is a powerful coming-of-age story inspired by true events in early 90s Cuba. It centers around 18-year-old Gustavo, who idolizes his older brother and punk bandmates. When word reaches the Frikis of a potential reprieve from the effects of the economic crisis, they do the now unthinkable: deliberately inject HIV to live at a government-run treatment home. It’s there they create their utopia to live and play music freely.
PAPER FLOWERS
Director: Mahesh Pailoor
Producers: Asit Vyas
Kansas Premiere RT: 100m/USA
Based on an incredible true story, Shalin Shah, an ambitious USC graduate, leaves behind his loving Indian American family and devoted Taiwanese American girlfriend, Fiona, to pursue his dream of making a difference as a Peace Corps volunteer. However, his life takes a devastating turn when a check-up for a lingering cough reveals a shocking diagnosis: a rare and aggressive form of cancer. Forced to return home and undergo treatment, Shalin confronts the fundamental question: what is the true meaning of life when faced with limited time? PAPER FLOWERS is a poignant and inspirational journey of love, loss, and hope. It serves as a road map to cherish our moments and remember to stop and enjoy every sunset.
QUEEN OF THE RING
Director: Ash Avildsen
Producers: Ash Avildsen, Aimee Schoof, Isen Robbins, BD Gunnell
Kansas Premiere RT: 133m/USA
Our film is based on the critically acclaimed book Queen of the Ring by Pulitzer Prize winner Jeff Leen. It tells the story of MILDRED BURKE, the champion female pro wrestler who revolutionized the sport for women when it was outlawed. History informs the present, and Millie was one of the great and somewhat forgotten elders of women’s sports. We aimed to ensure the world remembers this woman’s struggle and triumph.
ONLINE FEATURES
These Films are available Globally:
HOPE IN THE HEARTLAND
THE SUNSHINE DREAMER
THE SPIRIT OF HALLOWEENTOWN
THE FIGHT FOR BLACK LIVES
LOUD ENOUGH SURVIVING JUSTICE
STARTUP
These Films are available in the USA:
MISSING FROM FIRE TRAIL ROAD
THE PAPER BAG PLAN
ARRIVE ALIVE
MEET ME AT MAGIC HOUR
THEY CALL HER DEATH
These Films are available in Kansas:
NAKED AMBITION
TO KILL A WOLF
DOCUMENTARY SHORT PROGRAM
Days of Hate/ Director: Oliver Shahery
Enchukonoto [The Return]/ Director: Laissa Malih
Fantoomwijk/ Director: Ravi Sandberg
I Don’t Need Adult Conversation/ Director: Vika Evdokimenko
The Big Wait/ Director: Yannick Jamey
The School of Canine Massage/ Director: Emma D. Miller
The Waiting/ Director: Volker Schlecht
Window Treatment/ Director: Naomi Uechi, Thomas Southerland
Murmuration Shorts (plays in various blocks)
El Autor [The Author]/ Director: Ignacio Bárcena Martín
El Cacharrico [The Pileup]/ Director: Oscar Toribio Carbayo
NARRATIVE SHORT PROGRAMS (play in various blocks)
Chispa/ Director: Karina Lomelin Ripper
Cut Me If You Can/ Director: Nicolas Polixene & Sylvain Loubet
Dark Mommy/ Director: Courtney Eck
Deep in My Heart is a Song/ Director: Jonathan Pickett
Ebb & Flow/ Director: Nay Tabbara
Grave Error/ Director: Andrew Jonathan Smith
Guacamania!/ Director: Andrew J. Lee
Hair Care/ Director: Fatima Wardy
Harlem Fragments/ Director: Cameron Tyler Carr
Hold on for Dear Life/ Director: Simone Fiorentino
How To Skin A Cheetah/ Director: Meghan O’Shaughnessy
I Was Never Really Here/ Director: Gabriel Bihina Arrahnio
Ikigai/ Director: Maren Emiko Elardo
Jedo’s Dead/ Director: Sara Nimeh
Nada De Todo Esto/ Director: Patricio Martinez,Francisco Canton
Not Afraid/ Director: Mikaela Bruce
Of Silence and Song/ Director: Dai Leyi
Rat!/ Director: Neal Suresh Mulani
Sick Day/ Director: Hughes Ransom
Singing in the Lifeboat/ Director: Grace Wijaya
Something Like Happiness/ Director: Apar Pokharel
Sunkiss/ Director: Dice Rose
Terminally Ill/ Director: Chris Cole
The Astronaut Who Lost His Helmet/ Director: Fitzgerald Junior
The Door/ Director: Alexander Seltzer
The Mountain/ Director: Will Mayo, Ian Scott McGregor
The Steak/ Director: Kiarash Dadgar
Things Unheard Of/ Director: Ramazan Kılıç
Thirsty Girl/ Director: Alexandra Qin
This Is Ours/ Director: Simon London
Ultraveloci/ Director: Paolo Bonfadini, Davide Morando
Wegen Hegel/ Director: Popo Fan
TAKE 36 SHORTS
The audience winner and grand jury prize winner will play before the opening and closing night films. An announcement will be made on September 29. The competition will be held September 27-29.
THANE CHASTAIN’S EMERGING SHORTS ARE PRESENTED FREE BY FIDELITY BANK AND EVERGY
As You Wish/Director: Dennis Rider
Breaking Plans/ Director: London Houghton
Daniel/ Director: William Mueck
Delay/ Director: Sofia Macias
Drought/ Director: Zoë Marie Brown
Macaroni and Cheese-Fish Stew/ Director: Tiffany Zhang
Newman’s Block/ Director: Hudson Hillin
Nightstands and Daydreams/ Director: Nathan Wiebke
The Lake in the Sky/ Director: Caleb Reese Paul
To The Max/ Director: Sundiata Enuke
VORTEX SHORTS (in various blocks)
behind the scenes/Director: Alexandra Hayden
Crystal Galaxy Enforcers/Director: Kirk Howle
Dead Flesh/Director: Gianfranco Fernández-Ruiz
Elefsina Notre Amour/Director: Mahdi Fleifel
Inner Freak/Director: Derek Cuneo, Kate Monig
Institution/Director: Jonathan Wysocki
Living Reality/Director: Philip Thompson
One Happy Customer/Director: WATTS
Oversight/Director: Kemp Baldwin
Resonancia/Director: James Choi
Super High: A Period Piece/Director: Bianca D. Lambert
Take All of Me/Director: Declan Franey
Tennis, Oranges/Director: Sean Pecknold
The Greenhouse/Director: Danielle Nicole
The Interior Frontier/Director: Justin Clifford Rhody
The Nectar Instead/Director: Yoo Lee
The Sun Sets Like A Scar/Director: Taylor Genovese
Toast/Director: Douglas Riggs
Tulipomania: Shines On/Director: Cheryl Gelover, Tom Murray (Tulipomania)
Visions of Waves/Director: Desiree Tolchin
Zasady [The Rules]/Director: Amanda Renee Knox
PANELS
All sessions occur in CENTURY II CHERRY 202 unless indicated below. As part of our core goals of artistic development, all education is accessible to the Kansas community.
Filmmaker Mentorship Sessions
Thurs, 10/24, 1-4 PM
Hosted by Crickett Rumley
Kick off your Tallgrass experience with our Mentorship Sessions, an engaging event designed to welcome our filmmakers and set the stage for a weekend of film, fun, and fellowship! Think of it as a twist on speed dating, where you’ll have the opportunity to connect with industry experts in a series of small group conversations. Afterward, we’ll head over to the Opening Reception for drinks and more networking as we celebrate the start of the festival together. Please note this event is for 2024 Tallgrass filmmakers only.
Meet the Programmers/Meet the Filmmakers
Fri, 10/25, 10-11:30 AM
Moderated by Crickett Rumley, Panels Director
Panelists: Tallgrass Executive Director Melanie Addington, Programming Director Andre Seward, and Programmers Alex Megaro, Brian Ratigan, and Canan Turan.
Join us for an informal mix-and-mingle session with the crackerjack team behind our Stubbornly Independent programming and you, the filmmakers of Tallgrass 2024! You’ll learn how to make the most of your festival experience, hear more about the films screening this weekend, and talk to each other in a setting more casual than a Q&A and quieter than 3 am karaoke. Please note this event is for 2024 Tallgrass filmmakers only.
SAG-AFTRA Low Budget Contracts Made Easy
Fri, 10/25, 1-2:15 PM
Presented by Eliza Hajek
A great cast can help level up a low-budget indie film. However, only some filmmakers assume they can afford to hire SAG-AFTRA actors. While going through the SAG-AFTRA signatory process may seem intimidating, SAGindie makes it easier by educating independent producers about the ins and outs of hiring professional actors for low-budget films. This workshop, perfect for beginners, highlights the details of the various contracts SAG-AFTRA offers to low-budget films, demystifies working with the union, and offers best practices for indie producers.
The Marriage of Music and Film
Fri, 10/25, 4-5:15 PM
Moderated by John Haley
Music and film have been in a relationship since the dawn of cinema, and today’s filmmakers spend considerable time and effort curating music for their work. This conversation will explore how directors and musicians collaborate in narrative fiction and documentary films and identify critical considerations for designing soundtracks, from selecting pre-existing music to understanding the contributions a composer or original artist can bring to the experience.
Celebrating Hattie McDaniel
Sat, 10/26 9:30 – 10 AM; 11 AM – 12:30 PM
Location: The Kansas African American Museum
Moderated by Denise Sherman
Join us at 9:30 AM at the Hattie McDaniel memorial marker at 925 N. Wichita for a special kick-off morning reading of a poem by Hattie’s great-nephew Kevin John Goff, continuing the Tallgrass legacy of celebrating Hattie McDaniel.
Join us again at 11 AM at the museum to see the painting commissioned by the festival in 2004 on display before the discussion between Denise Sherman and Kevin John Goff on his Aunt Hattie. Filmmaker, actor, and public speaker Kevin John Goff attributes much of his entrepreneurial spirit to his legendary entertainment family, The McDaniels. The great-grandnephew of Hollywood’s first black artist to win an Oscar (actress Hattie McDaniel, for her work on the 1939 film Gone with the Wind), Goff continues to honor her legacy by inspiring the newest generation to take courage from her trailblazing accomplishments.
Women in Film Today
Sat, 10/26, 1-2:15 PM
Moderated by Jennifer Merin
Join us for an empowering and insightful discussion with filmmakers shaping cinema’s future and creating more inclusive and diverse narratives. This event will delve into the latest industry trends, focusing on the successes, challenges, and unique experiences of female filmmakers from various backgrounds and identities. We warmly invite all women, women-identifying, and non-binary individuals, along with allies, to attend.
Filmmaking Unveiled: Navigating the Essentials for Actor Filmmakers
Sat, 10/ 26, 3-4:15 PM
Presented by Valore Hubbard
Ready to create your film as an actor-filmmaker but need help figuring out where to start? Join Valorie in this workshop that unpacks the filmmaking process for actors. She will share crucial insights on how to begin, what elements you need, and the order in which to tackle them. Explore the roadmap to crafting your film with practical guidance from an industry expert to set you on the right path.
Black Representation on Screen: Then and Now
Sat, 10/26 4:30-7 PM
The panel will begin at the end of the film screening of IN THIS OUR LIFE, which is part of the Hattie McDaniel Celebration.
Location: The Orpheum
Join the conversation with Kevin John Goff, David Parks, and our Gordon Parks filmmakers as they discuss the representation of Black people on the big and small screen, What’s changed, what’s stayed the same, and what to strive towards in the future.
Facts and Fallacies about the Short Film Festival Run
Sun, 10/27, 2-3:15 PM
Moderated by Crickett Rumley
With over 30,000 film festivals worldwide, new and emerging filmmakers often need help to create a strategy or even know what their strategy should be. In this candid conversation, our festival programmers and strategists will bust through the myths, misinformation, cons, and scams in today’s festival circuit to deliver timely information to help you navigate the system and manage your expectations. Come with questions because, with our combined experience of over a hundred years, we’ve got answers.
Ask the Entertainment Attorney
Sun, 10/27, 4-5:15 PM
Presented by Tyler Emerson
If you’re making a film in the U.S., chances are you’ve encountered legal questions around topics ranging from releases and insurance to distribution and financing contracts. In this dynamic session, our entertainment attorney will answer your burning questions, unpack the law, and provide general guidelines on proceeding. He’s not your lawyer, though; the answer to every question will likely start with “It depends…”