INDIANA’S HEARTLAND FILM FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES 2010 LINEUP

Heartland Truly Moving Pictures has announced the lineup for the 2010 Heartland Film Festival, running October 14-23, 2010. This year’s fest, which annually operates under the focus of “exploring the human journey by artistically expressing hope and respect for the positive values of life,” boasts over 102 films, including popular festival circuit titles such as “Bilal’s Stand,” “Freedom Riders” and “Thunder Soul.” From the official press release:

A record 102 American and international films will screen during the 2010 Heartland Film Festival, which will take place Oct. 14-23 at various locations throughout Indianapolis. The announcement was made by Heartland Truly Moving Pictures President and CEO, Jeffrey L. Sparks, at the organizations’ Announcement Celebration on Thursday evening, during which the 19th annual film festival’s lineup of Award-winning films and special events was revealed.

“This year’s number of films surpasses the Festival’s previous record of 87 films, which was set just last year,” said Sparks. “We’re thrilled to be growing so much from year to year. With that growth comes more opportunities, greater variety and the highest quality independent films for Heartland Film Festival attendees to enjoy.”

Of the record 832 independent films submitted this year, 14 were distinguished as Crystal Heart Award winners and three student films were named Jimmy Stewart Memorial Crystal Heart Award winners. These films were honored for best meeting Heartland’s mission of “exploring the human journey by artistically expressing hope and respect for the positive values of life.” Heartland will award more than $100,000 in cash prizes to this year’s winners, including the $50,000 Grand Prize Award for Best Dramatic Feature, the $25,000 Award for Best Documentary Feature, and the $10,000 Vision Award for Best Short Film.

The five dramatic feature Award-winning films that will vie for the $50,000 Grand Prize are Bilal’s Stand, Café, The Space Between, Ways to Live Forever and The Yankles.

Five documentary feature Award winners will compete for the Festival’s $25,000 prize for Best Documentary Feature. These films are: Freedom Riders, Lt. Dan Band: For the Common Good, Mister Rogers & Me, Thunder Soul and Waste Land.

In addition to dramatic and documentary feature competitions, Heartland will present the $10,000 Vision Award for Best Short to one of the seven Award-winning short films. The films in this category include: The Butterfly Circus, Frog in the Well, God of Love, Jamaa, The Road Home, Sun Come Up and Waiting for a Train: The Toshio Hirano Story.

All cash prizes and awards will be presented at the annual Heartland Film Festival Awards Ceremony on Saturday, Oct. 16 at the Old National Centre in downtown Indianapolis. The first evening of film screenings will take place Friday, Oct. 15 at AMC Castleton Square 14 on the northside, where all Award-winning films will be shown.

In addition to the Award-winning films, Heartland will also screen Official Selection films. These films are not in competition for the cash prizes, but are eligible for the Audience Choice Awards. Regular screenings of both Official Selection and Award-winning films will take place Saturday, Oct. 16 through Saturday, Oct. 23 at AMC Castleton Square 14 and, new this year, AMC Showplace Indianapolis 17 on the southside.

Official Selection films included under the dramatic features category are: The 5th Quarter; Alabama Moon; Among Us; Ashley’s Ashes; Beyond the Pole; Black, White and Blues; Cast Me if You Can; First Dog; Fort McCoy; Harvest; I Am Kalam; Main Street; Mars; Obselidia; Paradise Recovered; Raspberry Magic; The River Why; The Rock ’n’ Roll Dreams of Duncan Christopher; Rust; Starring Maja; Summer Eleven; and Waiting For Forever.

Official Selection films under the documentary features category are: 10 Mountains 10 Years; 140; Bag It; Bouncing Cats; Come Together; The Desert of Forbidden Art; Don’t Quit Your Daydream; Dumbstruck; For Once in My Life; Hand Held; HIS & HERS; Learning From Light: The Vision of I. M. Pei; Little Town of Bethlehem; Looking for Lurch; Mozel; My Vietnam Your Iraq; The Parking Lot Movie; Pelada; Rabbit Fever; Sequestro; This Way of Life and Walk of Redemption.

Finally, Official Selection films within the shorts category are: 11 Weeks; Ana’s Playground; Appointment in Vancouver; Billy Baxter and The Mystery of Dr. Amazo; Boom Squad: A Beat in the Street; Displaced; El Salon Mexico; Goldstar, Ohio; Heartless: The Story of the Tin Man; Jacked; Jeremy; Last Stop; The Love Song of Iskra Prufrock; More Than Walking; The Nature of Fall; North & South; Piano Story; Poppy; Save the Farm; Touch; Twice as Bright; Two Hours in the Dark; When the Ground Stopped Shaking; Wounded Healers and Zero Currency.

New to the Festival this year, a select number of films from the inaugural Heartland High School Film Competition will be screened as part of their own shorts program, including the Grand Prize winning film Clay and finalists A Hat, Some Change and a Shoe; Glimpse of Horizon; I am Afraid and Lady and the Champ. Other Heartland High School Film Competition films that will screen are: Chicken Little; Death Becomes Him; For the Mailman (Pour le Facteur); Michael; Out of the Box and The Picture Box.

In addition to the films that will screen during the Festival, six special events will provide outlets for film-lovers of all ages. The 10-day film festival will open on Thursday, Oct. 14 with the screening of Snowmen, starring Ray Liotta, Bobby Coleman and Christopher Lloyd, at the Indianapolis Museum of Art.

Additional events include the annual Heartland Film Festival Awards Ceremony on Saturday, Oct. 16 where attendees can experience the glitz and glamour of Hollywood at the Old National Centre downtown, an opportunity to meet with Festival filmmakers during the Filmmakers’ Brunch on Sunday, Oct. 17 at the Omni Severin Hotel and the Family Movie Event on Sunday, Oct. 17 featuring Nativity! at the Indianapolis Museum of Art. Film enthusiasts can attend the Heartland Institute Workshop on Monday, Oct. 18 at the IUPUI Campus Center and hear Heartland Film Festival Award-winning and Official Selection filmmakers as they break down their filmmaking process from screenwriting to directing to producing. The Festival will come to a close on Saturday, Oct. 23 at the Indianapolis Museum of Art with the supernatural romance, The Presence, starring Mira Sorvino and Shane West, and the announcement of the 2010 Audience Choice Award winners.

“Each year we strive to reach and represent a broader audience,” said Sparks. “With a record 102 films from around the world, six exciting and unique special events, and the addition of the Heartland High School Film Competition collection, we feel we’re definitely accomplishing that goal and we encourage the people of Central Indiana to discover the endless possibilities of the Heartland Film Festival for themselves.”