Kansas City selected to MovieMaker Magazine’s Best Places to Live and Work as Moviemaker in 2022

Editors praise KC for industry-leading COVID protocols and other attributes, ranking it #19 among film-friendly destinations in North America

KANSAS CITY, MO—KC Film Commissioner Stephane Shannon announced today that Kansas City has once again been named one of MovieMaker’s “Best Places to Live and Work as a Moviemaker” for 2022.

MovieMaker compiles its annual list of its top 25 destinations based on surveys, production spending, tax incentives, additional research and personal visits, whenever possible. The full list of winning cities and towns was released today on MovieMaker.com. Kansas City appears at #19, up two spots from 2021.

Elaborating on Kansas City’s selection, MovieMaker Editor in Chief Tim Molloy, said “Kansas City deserves a lot of credit for introducing COVID protocols that have allowed not just its film community to flourish, but also those of other communities that took its lead. It’s poised to keep growing, thanks to highly professional crews and an abundance of locations that can double for almost anywhere in the world. Queer Eye has done a great job of putting fresh eyes on the community, and letting other creatives realize its potential. And just about everyone we talk with about Kansas City is quick to mention the friendliness of the people who call it home.”

Shannon said Kansas City’s selection is a testament to the growth of the local creative economy—a community that is eager to safely welcome the industry’s diverse array of people and projects.

“I’m so proud Kansas City makes this list for the fourth year in a row,” said Shannon, KC’s film commissioner since 2014. “We’re in a fortunate position to surprise and delight anyone who comes here to film because we have such great crews, diverse location offerings, talented on-screen and voice talent and a City who is incredibly supportive of our industry.”

The KC Film Office assisted with more than 150 productions in 2021, including a commercial campaign with “Got Milk?” and the indie feature “Last Exit.” Working with the KCMO City Council and the Office of Culture and Creative Services, the organization helps market and facilitate the KC Film Development Program, which provides a modest incentive to eligible productions that choose to film in the region.

MovieMaker’s annual list of the Best Places to Live and Work as a Moviemaker appears in its Winter 2022 issue. To read the full story, visit MovieMaker.com.


About KC Film
A division of Visit KC, the Kansas City Film Office drives economic impact to the region through production assistance, recruitment and industry support, along with consistent lobbying for state incentives. Core to the office’s mission is its approach to manufacturing entertainment, which emphasizes the relevance and importance of the film industry to revenue generation. To learn more, visit FilminKC.com.

About Visit KC 
Headquartered in Downtown Kansas City, Visit KC is the chief hospitality sales and marketing organization for the region. With a mission of igniting global passion for Kansas City, Visit KC collaborates with nearly 1,000 community partners to drive the marketing, sales and service of the destination’s convention and tourism industry—a sector that supported more than 48,000 jobs pre-pandemic. For more information about Kansas City, go to VisitKC.com.

Media Contacts

Devin Aaron
Devin Aaron 
(National/International Media)
Visit KC
816-691-3805
daaron@visitkc.com
Makenzie Wolters
Makenzie Wolters 
(Kansas City/Regional Media)
Visit KC
816-691-3811
mwolters@visitkc.com

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