The Best of the Kansas City Urban Film Festival will be at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 25, at the Screenland Crown Center, 2450 Grand Blvd. Tickets are $8. A free mixer begins at 6:30 p.m. in the theater’s lobby bar. You can get tickets at Screenland.com.

The festival’s line-up of five short films by maverick metropolitan moviemakers was picked by festival organizer and Fox 4 News (WDAF-TV) film critic Shawn Edwards, who will host a Q&A with the filmmakers immediately following the screening.

“This is a good opportunity to see a nice mix of urban films, some of which are produced by people right here in Kansas City” Edwards said of the showcase sponsored by CinemaKC, a not-for-profit organization connecting groups devoted to film in Missouri and Kansas.

“The number-one criterion was to select movies that had an impact on the audience when they were initially screened,” Edwards said. “They were either movies that caught the audience off guard or the ones that created the most spirited debate afterward during the Q&A sessions. They presented something a little different, something that people hadn’t seen before.”

What makes an urban film urban?

“It’s not necessarily a racial definition,” Edwards said. “It’s generally more cosmopolitan with a city feel. These are filmmakers who don’t have large budgets. They sort of scrap it together, stick to it and make it happen. That’s the spirit of the festival.”

The “best of” lineup:

“Hell Week” (21 minutes, 2011): Kansas City filmmaker and University of Kansas grad Patrick Rea reveals a frightful collision between fraternity hazing and sorority revenge.

“It’s great, edgy filmmaking,” Edwards said. “It was shot here in Kansas City, and features African American actor Tasha Smith who will be participating in the Q&A.”

“Always with You” (10 minutes, 2010): Los Angeles director Troy Warwell goes beyond apology and disgrace in examining a neglectful father whose wife blames him for the accidental death of the couple’s 4-year-old son.

“It’s a beautifully shot, emotionally powerful short film,” Edwards said. “This is a guy (Warwell) you need to keep your eye on. I will make a prediction: This guy will be shooting feature films in the next two to three years. He’s a brilliant talent. There’s more emotion in this 10-minute film than there is in some full-length features.”

“Bad Dream” (36 minutes, 2010): Kansas City director Jason Piggie shows the struggle of a low-level criminal trying to avoid getting bumped off while getting right with his family.

“Jason told me it took him more than three years to get this thing done,” Edwards said. “It’s got a strong narrative. He knows how to get stories across.”

“The Movies We Love: The 10 Most Romantic Black Movies (Ever)” (21 minutes, 2010): Written and co-produced by Edwards, helmed by Kansas City director Matthew Hensley and featuring commentary from such Hollywood stars as Jamie Fox and Queen Latifah, this documentary is a reedited version of “The Movies We Love: The 25 Most Romantic Black Movies (Ever).”

“A movie that’s on the list that totally fits the category is “The Color Purple,” which is directed by Steven Spielberg,” Edwards said. “But the story obviously deals with the black experience in America.”

“May This Be Love” (5 minutes, 2009): Kansas City director Diallo Javonne French gives no dialogue to his two lead characters as they coalesce to poetic narration and a cool jazz soundtrack in this inventive black-and-white film.

“This movie is real avant-garde,” Edwards said. “It was shot on 18th and Vine and the actors are all local. It got a big boost because it was part of the BET program, ‘Lens on Talent,” and got a chance to be shown on national television.”

CinemaKC’s Strategic Partners include ArtsKC, Film Commission of Greater Kansas City, Blackberry Castle Productions, Film Society of Greater Kansas City, Independent Filmmaker’s Coalition, Kansas City Film Critics Circle, Kansas City FilmFest, Kansas City Filmmakers Jubilee, Kansas City Fringe Festival, Kansas City Screenwriters, Kansas City Urban Film Festival, Kansas City Women in Film and TV, Kansas Film Commission, Kansas International Film Festival, Missouri Film Commission, Missouri Motion Media Association, Reel Spirit, Thank You Walt Disney, UMKC Film Department, University of Kansas Film and Media Studies, Variety the Children’s Charity of Greater Kansas City and Women of the Motion Picture Industry.

CinemaKC’s Business Alliance includes Allied Integrated Marketing, Allied Theatre Craft, American Heartland Theatre, Haywood Marketing Communications, Kansas City Area Development Council, KC Stage Magazine, KC Studio, Prizm Productions, Screenland Armour, Screenland Crossroads, Screenland Crown Center, StagePort KC, Substream Music & Sound Design and T2.

What does it take to sing, strum and otherwise make live music for sometimes little or no money in the subterranean recesses of the Big Apple?

Find out in “Busking the System,” an entertaining and enlightening documentary feature film that follows several young “buskers” or street musicians as they seek artistic success and most importantly pocket change in the New York City subway system.

CinemaKC, a not-for-profit organization connecting film-devoted groups in Missouri and Kansas, will present the Kansas City premiere of “Busking the System” at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 19; 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 20; and 2 and 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 21, at the Screenland Crown Center, 2450 Grand Blvd.

The film’s cast of authentic characters includes musician and Kansas City native Phillip Bradley and former Akron, Ohio, musician Nate Corsi, who now calls Kansas City home.

“I feel like we captured a couple of real-life adventures with real characters,” said “Busking the System” director Justin Michael Morales, an independent filmmaker from Manchester, Conn. “The film tells the story of the first amendment and how it applies to art and music.”

Friday night’s screening of “Busking the System” will include a Q&A with one of the filmmakers and busker Bradley. Saturday night’s screening will include a Q&A with director Morales, and buskers Bradley and Corsi. Sunday night’s screening will include a Q&A with Morales and Bradley.

Having enough talent is only the first step in achieving successful buskerdom in the subway’s packed and noisy public spaces. You’ve also got to have enough nerve to risk getting on other people’s nerves.

“If you don’t live in New York, you don’t know what busking is,” said singer, songwriter and guitarist Bradley. “If you do live in New York, you are both annoyed and amazed – and made to feel uncomfortable by buskers. They are a certain breed of people.”

They comprise such colorful performers as enigmatic singer and keyboardist Mystro Dee, who maintains that if you don’t feel the music, neither will passersby; trendsetting percussionist Larry Wright, considered to be the subway’s first plastic bucket drummer; and joyful musical saw player Natalia Paruz, who quit her regular day job when she realized that she could make more money busking.

“I want to open the eyes of the viewer to a new world,” said director Morales. “ ‘Busking the System’ brings you into the subways of New York City to see the sights and hear the sounds of a melting pot of dreamers not only from all over the country, but from all over the world.”

Tickets to “Busking the System” cost $6 (matinees) and $8 (evenings); go to screenland.com or call the box office at 816-421-9700.

CinemaKC’s Strategic Partners include ArtsKC, Film Commission of Greater Kansas City, Blackberry Castle Productions, Film Society of Greater Kansas City, Independent Filmmaker’s Coalition, Kansas City Film Critics Circle, Kansas City FilmFest, Kansas City Filmmakers Jubilee, Kansas City Fringe Festival, Kansas City Screenwriters, Kansas City Urban Film Festival, Kansas City Women in Film and TV, Kansas Film Commission, Kansas International Film Festival, Missouri Film Commission, Missouri Motion Media Association, Reel Spirit, Thank You Walt Disney, UMKC Film Department, University of Kansas Film and Media Studies, Variety the Children’s Charity of Greater Kansas City and Women of the Motion Picture Industry.

CinemaKC’s Business Alliance includes Allied Integrated Marketing, Allied Theatre Craft, American Heartland Theatre, Haywood Marketing Communications, Kansas City Area Development Council, KC Stage Magazine, KC Studio, Prizm Productions, Screenland Armour, Screenland Crossroads, Screenland Crown Center, StagePort KC, Substream Music & Sound Design and T2.

The debut season of “CinemaKC,” showcasing the works and words of Kansas City area filmmakers, will be rebroadcast in its 14-week entirety.

Each half-hour episode is scheduled to air at 9:30 p.m. Saturdays (starting Aug. 13) and will be repeated at midnight Sundays (starting Aug. 14) on KSMO-TV, Channel 62.

“CinemaKC” spotlights short works of local filmmakers who are interviewed about their live-action and animated tales encompassing drama, comedy, romance, science-fiction and horror, as well as documentary projects.

“We are thrilled that our many talented filmmakers who are part of the ‘CinemaKC’ TV series will have their work seen by thousands of new viewers,” said John Shipp, founder of CinemaKC, a non-profit organization that promotes local filmmakers. “Thank you, KSMO, for your strong support of our robust and thriving film community.”

The first rebroadcast of “CinemaKC” looks at “405” and “World Builder,” two short films by four-time Emmy Award-nominated visual effects director and supervisor Bruce Branit, who studied at the University of Kansas. Branit’s credits include TV’s “Lost”, “Star Trek Voyager” and “The X-Files,” feature films “King Kong,” “Serenity” and “Sin City” and music videos by U2, Aerosmith and 50 Cent.

Branit’s three-minute short “405” is a pioneering viral video pegged to the unlikely spectacle of a jet airliner making an emergency landing on Los Angeles’ 405 freeway.

“Comedy ensues,” Branit said of his offbeat short. “It’s not any longer than it needs to be and doesn’t waste your time entertaining you.”

“ ‘World Builder’ is a much different film,” he said. “I was kind of experimenting with a longer narrative. The pitch line of it is ‘a strange man in a holographic world builds an idyllic world for the woman he loves.’ It’s entirely a green screen shoot, so everything other than the actors is computer generated.”

Branit sees “CinemaKC” as a TV show for the film-loving masses and also a confidence-builder for the burgeoning collective of Kansas City area filmmakers.

“It’s a great showcase,” Branit said. “And it’s a great yardstick for people to compare their work to and say, ‘I can do that. I’ve made a movie just like that. Maybe I should send it in.’ ”

“The feedback from those who have seen the show is very positive,” said Jerry Rapp, executive producer of “CinemaKC.” “As we move into the future with “CinemaKC,” we are seeing more collaboration occur and more dialogue about filmmaking being sparked.”

Aaron Barnhart, TV critic for The Kansas City Star, commended “CinemaKC” for the “quality of the films that are screened on the show and the tightly edited, HD-showcase nature of the interviews,” resulting in a program that is “more polished than most shows about film that air on national cable channels.”

Upcoming installments of “CinemaKC” will feature clips and commentaries from such imaginative local filmmakers as Ty Jones, whose “Out of Tune” traces the trip of a guitar through sundry hands and circumstances.

Emmy winner Todd Norris, whose “Wonderful Way Ahead Machine” transports an inventor eight decades into the future.

Kansas City Art Institute animation students Ryan Tonner (“Luchadorable”) and 2010 Student Academy Award winner Stuart Bury (“Dried Up”).

And keep an eye out for actress and Kansas City native Meagan Flynn, who played a stewardess opposite George Clooney in “Up in the Air,” and who stars in “Adrift,” a four-minute short about an arguing couple on the verge of revealing big secrets.

CinemaKC’s Strategic Partners include ArtsKC, Film Commission of Greater Kansas City, Blackberry Castle Productions, Film Society of Greater Kansas City, Independent Filmmaker’s Coalition, Kansas City Film Critics Circle, Kansas City FilmFest, Kansas City Filmmakers Jubilee, Kansas City Fringe Festival, Kansas City Screenwriters, Kansas City Urban Film Festival, Kansas City Women in Film and TV, Kansas Film Commission, Kansas International Film Festival, Missouri Film Commission, Missouri Motion Media Association, Reel Spirit, Thank You Walt Disney, UMKC Film Department, University of Kansas Film and Media Studies, Variety the Children’s Charity of Greater Kansas City and Women of the Motion Picture Industry.

CinemaKC’s Business Alliance includes Allied Integrated Marketing, Allied Theatre Craft, American Heartland Theatre, Haywood Marketing Communications, Kansas City Area Development Council, KC Stage Magazine, KC Studio, Prizm Productions, Screenland Armour, Screenland Crossroads, Screenland Crown Center, StagePort, Substream Music & Sound Design and T2.

Greetings CinemaKC fans! Hope you’re enjoying our TV show on KSMO-TV. This Saturday marks the end of our season, and episode spotlights the amazing work from members of Independent Filmmakers Coalition of Kansas City. We take a look at three short films and talk to each filmmaker.

(Tim Harvey on the set of Dinner Time)

(Jim Schweers in How To Tuck In A Shirt)

The filmmakers and films being featured are Jim Schweers’ award-winning comedic “How to Tuck in Your Shirt,” Tim Harvey’s popular comedy, “Dinner Time,” and Brian Boye’s sendup of fallen Disney icons, “After Ever After.” Tune in at 9:30PM on KSMO-TV to see them all!

For complete details on the IFC, please see: www.ifckc.com.