INDIANAPOLIS The Awards Brunch for the 35th Heartland Film Festival was held on Sunday, Oct. 18. The festival awarded $80,000 in cash prizes to filmmakers, including $20,000 for the Narrative and Documentary Grand Prize-winning films. Since 1992, Heartland Film has presented $4 million in cash prizes – the largest total amount awarded by any film festival in North America.
World premiere documentary feature “The Fish Don’t Care When It Rains,” directed by Jennifer Msumba & Siobhan McDonnell, received three festival awards including the $20,000 Documentary Feature Grand Prize, the Overall Documentary Audience Choice Award and the $2,000 Richard D. Propes Documentary Social Impact Award.
The $20,000 Narrative Feature Grand Prize was accepted by executive producer Lydia Storie for Liz Sargent’s film “Take Me Home.” The film is about Anna, a 38-year-old Korean adoptee, who cares for her aging parents in a fragile balance of meeting each othersʼ needs.
Heartland Film has the honor of being the only festival in the world sanctioned by the Stewart Family to present an award in honor of classic film actor Jimmy Stewart. “Home from the Vietnam War,” directed by Mat Hames, received the $5,000 Jimmy Stewart Legacy Award, as well as the Official Selection Documentary Audience Choice Award.
Will Poulter attended the Awards Brunch and was honored with the Pioneering Spirit Award at the Heartland Film Festival. Poulter also accepted the $2,000 Richard D. Propes Narrative Social Impact Award for the film, “Union County,” with the director Adam Meeks.
There were two additional films that both received jury and audience choice honors. World Premiere “Too Soon,” directed by Jeff Dickamore-Florence & Aurora Florence, received the $2,500 Best Narrative Premiere Award and the Official Selection Narrative Audience Choice Award. “Seniors” by Lance Clark won the $2,000 Indiana Narrative Award and the Indiana Narrative Audience Choice Award.
World Premiere “Maybe We Should” by AJ Tesler received the $10,000 Allen Whitehill Clowes Narrative Award and “Loving Karma” by Johnny Burke & Andrew Hinton received the $10,000 Allen Whitehill Clowes Documentary Award.
Other Audience Choice Award highlights include “Elsinore” starring Andrew Scott from Focus Features (Spotlight Narrative Audience Choice Award), National Geographic Documentary Films’ “Carl Sagan: We Are Made of Star Stuff” (Spotlight Documentary Audience Award Winner) and Independent Film Company’s animated Alzheimer’s disease drama “Tangles” (Spotlight Animated Audience Choice Award).