INDIANAPOLIS — The 98th Academy Awards will take place on Sunday, March 15, and the nominations were announced recently. Heartland Film is honored to be one of the first to showcase Oscar-nominated films through the Heartland Film Festival in October, the Indy Shorts Film Festival in July and as Truly Moving Picture Award recipients. This year, 20 films celebrated by Heartland Film — 9 short films and 11 feature films — earned 44 total Academy Award Nominations.
With eight short film nominations, the Indy Shorts Film Festival programmed more short film Oscar nominees than any other festival in the country. Five of these nominees were also award recipients at the Indy Shorts Film Festival. Best Live Action Short nominees “The Singers,” “A Friend of Dorothy,” and “Jane Austen’s Period Drama” were each honored with two awards at the Indy Shorts Film Festival.
In October, the Heartland Film Festival showcased nine Oscar-nominated films, including “Sentimental Value,” which is up for Best Picture and a total of nine nominations. Three recipients of Heartland Film’s Truly Moving Picture Award also received Oscar nominations, including Best Picture nominee, “Hamnet.”
The Heartland Film Festival’s Centerpiece Screening film, “Train Dreams,” has three nominations, including Best Picture. The Academy members also shared similar views as the Indiana Film Journalist Association (IFJA) members. At the 2025 Heartland Film Festival, the IFJA Award was presented to “Blue Moon,” which has a nomination for Best Lead Actor and Best Original Screenplay.
For more information about scheduled events and festivals in 2026, visit heartlandfilm.org. The Indy Shorts Film Festival will be held July 21-26, and the Heartland Film Festival will be held Oct. 8-18.