Kansas City is getting a brand-new film festival next year, and it's aiming squarely at the history books. The inaugural Black Movie Hall of Fame Film Festival will unfold throughout February 2027 across four Kansas City venues, bringing classic Black cinema back to the big screen in rare 35mm and 70mm celluloid formats with presenting sponsorship from AARP.
The monthlong celebration was first reported by Blex Media on October 6, 2026, three days before FOX4KC published its October 9 report, which noted the festival will fill February with a lineup of screenings and events designed to spotlight some of the most influential films in Black cinema history. According to Blex Media, the festival's format commitment is central to the pitch: audiences will see these films projected the way they were originally meant to be seen, on physical celluloid prints rather than digital restorations.
A cornerstone of the schedule lands on February 20, 2027, commemorating what would have been the 100th birthday of Oscar-winning actor Sidney Poitier, per Blex Media. Poitier is also being honored as part of the Hall of Fame's inaugural class of inductees, tying the centennial tribute directly to the organization's founding mission of recognizing cinema trailblazers.
A Rare Home for 70mm Film in the Region
One of the festival's primary screening venues is Screenland Armour Theatre in North Kansas City, which installed rare 70mm projection capability in early 2026, as reported by KCUR. The station notes it's the only commercial cinema in the region specialized in showing large-format film prints, making it a natural partner for a festival built around celluloid presentation.
The Black Movie Hall of Fame itself was created in 2022 as a nonprofit by Executive Director Shawn Edwards, a FOX4 KC film critic with more than 25 years on the beat who also co-founded the African American Film Critics Association in 2003. RogerEbert.com details Edwards' long-standing role in Black entertainment journalism, including his creation of the Critics Choice Association's Celebration of Black Cinema & Television.
A Museum Rising Inside a Restored 1924 Theater
The organization is building its permanent museum and headquarters inside the historic Boone Theater at 1701 E. 18th St., which reopened in May 2026 after an $8.7 million renovation in Kansas City's 18th & Vine Historic Jazz District, according to Startland News. The building's history runs deep: it was originally constructed in 1924 as The New Rialto Theater before being renamed for John “Blind” Boone, a Missouri-born Black pianist and composer.
The Boone Theater sits in Kansas City's 18th & Vine Historic Jazz District, as detailed by Kansas City Magazine. Financial support has followed: in September 2026, the African American Film Critics Association donated $25,000 to the Black Movie Hall of Fame to support its permanent exhibition space and educational programming at the Boone Theater, per EURweb.
Honoring a Freshman Class With Deep Kansas City Roots
The Hall of Fame's initial “Freshman Class” recognizes 10 cinema trailblazers with Kansas City ties, including Oscar winner Hattie McDaniel, director Gordon Parks, actor Don Cheadle, and silent film pioneer Oscar Micheaux, according to the Black Movie Hall of Fame. Among them is Tressie Souders, a Kansas City domestic worker who made history in 1922 as the first known Black woman to direct a feature film with “A Woman's Error,” distributed locally by the Afro-American Film Exhibitors Company.
The festival arrives as Kansas City's film calendar keeps expanding, following the KC FilmFest's 30th anniversary. With the Boone Theater's capital fundraising and interior buildouts still ongoing, next February's festival is scheduled to take place alongside the museum's grand opening.
