Elevating Stories, Inspiring Creators
If you're a filmmaker in the United States, we want to celebrate your work and the powerful stories you’re creating. Now entering our fourth season, the Uplift Film Festival is expanding once again—welcoming inspiring, uplifting, and encouraging films from across the nation and from around the world.
Even as we grow, we remain proud of our Midwest roots. We will continue honoring films made in, or by filmmakers from, our Four‑State Area: Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma.
We welcome entertaining films of all kinds, but our heart is with stories that make a difference—films that touch lives, spark hope, and bring people together. If your short or feature film carries that spirit, we invite you to submit through our FilmFreeway page and join us in Webb City and Joplin, Missouri, in March 2027 for our fourth annual Uplift Film Fest.
We all need a little uplift. Let’s come together to celebrate stories that change hearts and minds.