Best Film Festival

Honestly, what other festival in town is going to bring you silent, black-and-white, erotic short films? That bold move alone would have been enough to win our endorsement. But it wasn't enough for festival coordinators, who also brought special-effects gurus Ray Harryhausen (Jason and the Argonauts, Mysterious Island, The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad) and Tom Savini (Night of the Living Dead, From Dusk Till Dawn) to town as well as critic and director Richard Schickel (Charlie: The Art and Life of Charles Chaplin) and a handful of other notable figures in film. Instead of letting these insanely impressive out-of-towners hog all the attention, Halfway to Hollywood found a host of ways to give local creators their due with several other screenings -- including some of the best shorts in the KAN Film Festival, short films made in L.A. by people with Kansas City connections, and Ben Meade's Das Bus, all about our notorious transit system. And unlike other local festivals, Halfway to Hollywood promoted itself outside Kansas City, offering special hotel deals for festival attendees. Now that's how you do it, people.