Since its creation in 2003, over 100,000 people have attended with approximately 200 filmmakers, actors and guests coming in for the festival from all over the world.
The first public event hosted by Tallgrass was a screening of Y Tu Mama Tambien in Dodge City, KS.
Academy Award nominee Gary Busey attended in conjunction with the screening of The Buddy Holly Story, a documentary.
Official Selections have included Audience Award winners The Big Bad Swim and 39 Pounds of Love; as well as the 2006 Independent Spirit Award winner Conventioneers, the 2007 Independent Spirit Award nominee Trials of Darryl Hunt as well as Bomb The System, Manhattan, Kansas, Dreamland, The Real Dirt on Farmer John, Fat Girls, Iraq in Fragments, The Last Picture Show, The Buddy Holly Story and the popular High School Shorts Program and Timothy Gruver Spotlight on Kansas Filmmakers.
As a result of the coronavirus pandemic, Tallgrass Film Festival held a virtual edition in 2020, instead of the usual event in Wichita.