width=”100″ height=”133″ border=”0″ title=”Filmprojector” alt=”Filmprojector” src=”http://blogs.kansas.com/weblog/files/images/filmprojector.jpg” /> The Tallgrass Film Festival continues to put down roots in Wichita and make a name for itself nationally with the successful completion of its fourth-annual independent film showcase.
The festival attracted good crowds this year for films such as "Manhattan, Kansas," a by turns searingly painful and funny documentary about a Kansas woman’s reunion with her eccentric, mentally unstable mother.
It’s not typical Hollywood fare — and that’s the point. As the festival showed, there’s an engaging world of independent film out there that gives voice to unsung people and places, including Kansas.
Again this year, Tallgrass impressed visiting filmmakers, one of whom said he was "blown away" by the city’s hospitality.
Festival organizers deserve credit for broadening Wichitans’ cultural horizons.
Posted by Randy Scholfield
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29 Comments
Tallgrass is such a cool name, how could they not attract visitors.
I swear, the people who comment on here can come up with something negative on everything posted. Never happy with anything that happens in the City or that the City does to make this a better place to live.
If you are referring to my post Justin, I meant that in a positive way. There certain phrases and words that have a ‘coolness’ about them. To me, anything with Tall Grass puts a positive light on just about any subject. I get imagery of broad plains of tallgrass bowing to gentle winds.
Perhaps you shoul get a photograph of the Tallgrass Prairie Reserve and reflect in its calmness.
JM – I have to agree with you – when I saw your first post above I definitely construed it as positive. And I also agree – go out into the tallgrass prairie and watch a sunset …
JM- I read your first comment as possitive as well. A Tallgrass prarie is one of the most beautiful places.
It’s okay, Justin, there are so many cynics around here sometimes it can be hard to tell what is sarcastic and what is serious. You’re alright by me. JM’s comment is refreshing, and I agree with him 100%. It’s nice to see something positive, especially about Wichita. Thanks JM. Tallgrass could someday grow to be something very large and very prominent, as its name implies.
Whatever would we do without Wichita’s biggest expatriated cheerleader to tell us whose viewpoint is valid and whose isn’t.
Tallgrass film festival is but one of many attractions we should support. Wheatland Jam brought in many good bands and large crowds. I helped do security there two years back (volunteer, no pay) – it would be nice to see it resurrected. The Bluegrass festival down in Winfield. We could and should support these and build more of them.
Oh look, it’s Todd adding nothing to the discussion…again.
I was just commenting on how nice it is to see something positive about our city, Todd, since so often all we do around here is criticize and complain. JM’s comment put a smile on my face and I thought I’d convey that. Just being nice.
Is that okay with you?? Sorry I didn’t get your permission before I did that. I’ll know better next time. You’re the boss, Todd.
I’m hoping that the festival does well, but with the large number of gay movies, perhaps Scholfield could have found another quote than “blown away”
These are the jokes folks. I’ll be here all week.
Are you getting ready to cry, steve?
Here’s my amateur attempt for advertisment for the Tallgrass Film Festival. Maybe amends for my simple post.
http://mccluer.name/tallgrass200.html
Interesting … I like the picture …
Simple, yet elegant!Good job.
Nope, I’m still smiling, Todd. You should try that sometime–but to do that you’ll need to pull your head out of your…
I may have my head up my whatever, but at least I didn’t have to leave town to find a job, and if I did, I wouldn’t be whining about all the nay sayers in a town I used to live in.
IOW, get a LIFE.
JM- I really like your advertisment. You should make one for every blog post on here. It could be fun. :)
Todd, I’m still in Wichita, I will be until I finish my program. I’m leaving town not to find a job but to get away from the cynical small mindedness that plagues us here. I’m sure it will be easier to find a professional job in Denver, though–it isn’t overrun by the NASCAR crowd and there are lots of jobs other than mindless factory work.
I may not have a life now, I’ll give you that. I spend most of time on classwork. But if I want to have a great life, achieve great success, and accomplish my professional and personal goals, I can’t work in a factory. Until this city figures out what is important to younger up and coming generations like mine (or at least listens to what we’re already saying), it will lose quite a few educated and promising individuals.
‘07 – on that we agree. But, if we had that shiney new arena but no decent jobs would that make you stay?
Shocker07,
Ah Youth. :)
It’s good to explore the world and see the different perspectives. Having traveled the world myself there really is no place like home.
You will find though, that it isn’t the city that has to figure things out what is important to youth, it is youth that has to figure out what is important to them.
Since you have seem to have found your mind in college, spend a few years nuturing it the way you see fit. When you need a rest for your heart, even if it temporary, come on back to Wichita;
we can talk, drink some coffee, discuss life.
Ben, the arena can be the catalyst that drives serious downtown revitilization efforts, as has been done in similar communities with success. The arena can be the beginning of a fundamental change in how Wichitans view themselves–from small-town backwardness to a serious big city business destination. It can cause our citizens to appreciate first class facilities instead of always settling for second best and driving to Kansas City to have a good time. But Sedgwick County is doing nothing to continue to promote the arena and is taking the vote for granted. It appears in every way we are losing the momentum gained from that historic vote. Public opinion terrorists like JWink continue to rattle cages to the point my honest concern is that many Wichitans will refuse to support the arena in protest–which isn’t logical given we’re spending almost $200 million on it. That’s an awful lot of money to waste just to prove a point.
It is human nature to want to be around people that are like yourself. I don’t want to work in a factory. I like to go to concerts or sporting events in first class facilities. I love great museums and cultural institutions and also recognize that these institutions do not make money and need public support. I would like to live in a city that is proud of its accomplishments, invests in itself, takes itself seriously, thinks big, plans for the future, has concern for its image, and cultivates a professional atmosphere.
Wichita was always my first choice in places to live, and I was willing to give up lucrative professional advancement opportunities if Wichita was going in the direction to be the city I described above. There’s no doubt in my mind that the arena will completely change downtown for the better. But will Wichitans allow it to change their attitudes? I’m not so sure about that anymore. Other recent developments are convincing me that Wichitans will not allow the investment this city needs to aspire to the quality of life standards I am seeking.
I could get a job in Wichita–that’s not the problem. Koch hires lots of accountants, or I could stay on with the firm I’m at now.
But Denver provides the lifestyle I am seeking and doesn’t seem to have the same small-mindedness, unwillingness to change and fear of growth as there is here. Denver has offices of all Big Four accounting firms (Wichita has none now thanks to all of our large public companies leaving town), and is headquarters of several large multinational corporations. United Airlines is rumored to be considering moving its headquarters there from Chicago, which would further enhance its job and business climate. Denver is home to 2 law schools should I decide to pursue tax law.
But it’s more about attitudes than it is about jobs, Ben. As I have said before, I refuse to live in a city that aspires to nothing more than mediocrity. The people of Wichita refuse to allow themselves to dream, to be excited, and to have spirit and vision. It’s not about Wichita itself–I love this city, I just can’t handle the personality of the general public.
Hehehe, how the Peerless Princess of the Plains have transformed from the heydays of the olden times, when everyone stopped here to refuel their planes on their cross-country journeys. I’d say, it’s the lingering effect of belated moves to replace Prohibition Era laws, and the great influx of the Southern conservatives during the war.
JM, I’m sure I’ll be back in Wichita frequently–at least for the Tallgrass Film Festival! Plenty of opportunity for coffee and great conversation.
I would never rule out coming back to Wichita permanently, either.
I think it is important, though, for a city to continue to adapt to changing times and make itself a desirable destination for younger generations. They are the future, after all, and holders of the greatest potential. Seattle and San Jose would be a shadow of what they are today if they were not desirable places for young professionals to build their dreams.
There is an economic interest in doing this as well–it is estimated that Wichita loses about half a million dollars in investment each time a young person leaves town. And that is not including the future impact this young person would bring. Wichita deserves to grow and deserves to be known as a first class city and a great place to live. Why is there not the community will to make that happen?
I hope you are right about your arean ‘07. However, name-calling does not help your cause. As for your complaints about JWink’s questioning your Arena I would point out that it is the job of the Arena proponents to convince the public that this is a good thing. If they choose not to do so then you and they have nobody to blame but yourselves.
Not being a native Wichitan I have seen things that work and things that don’t work all over the country. And, I still have zero faith in the way this Arena thing has been and is being handled.
Ben, arena proponents have tried hard to convince the public it is a good idea. But a large faction of the public refuses to listen, refuses to consider the success of other arenas, blindly mistrusts local government or business, adopts odd conspiracy theories, and then accuses arena proponents of being elitists, members of the GOBN, idealists, or worse yet, on the county payroll!! Talk about name calling. I realize they are sensitive and defensive because we’re talking about their hard-earned tax money, but some folks I guess don’t realize if they lived in any other mid to large sized city, they would still have to deal with taxpayer financed arenas. I guess they’d only be happy if they lived in Great Bend where the most expensive public project is the stoplight.
We can push this project until we’re blue in the face, but if no one listens, what good does it do? One can’t help people who don’t want to be helped.
‘07 – as a non-native I have seen a lot and tend to be open-minded. At one time I favored building an Arena – but doing it correctly! These guys are screwing it up and have been for years.
Maybe if I saw a little success in things like their WaterWalk I might have more confidence in their abilities.
As I have said – i am not originally from Wichita. I am from much larger cities – including cities with convention centers etc. Cities where the City and Universities work togather. This thing could have been formulated correctly – it was not.
I was thinking about this Tuesday when i was at the 235 improvement meeting. They were talking about costs and timelines, the costs are so high that they are talking about building this 30 years from now.
The 235 interchange would be built before the new Northwest bypass. Both of these projects should come BEFORE the arena. But the arena is getting done first because of a vote. Why not vote on all major project? Both the 235 interchanges and the Northwest bypass are more expensive than the Arena, why not vote on a 2 year tax just for each of those projects, do it for all major projects.
That way we know where our money is going…
That would be great Tony. We could fix many of our problems here by maintaining the current sales tax rate, which is still lower than many areas of Kansas and lower or competitive with similar cities in the region. But what would you think the chances are of actually convincing the public to replace the arena tax after it expires? I was too young to remember the referendum for the 1/2 percent for Kellogg expansion, but I am told that took almost an act of God.
Ben, I appreciate your experience gained from other cities. To me we have such a narrow view of the world around here so your perspective is valuable. But I don’t believe the success of the arena is contingent upon the city and the U working together. Not every arena built has a U for a tenant. It’s not a principal determinator of success. It’s great that you have lived in cities where the arena is home to college teams–the atmosphere before and after a game downtown must have been fantastic. But arenas without college teams are just as prevalent.