INDIANAPOLIS — The 27th Annual Heartland Film Festival kicks off October11 with the opening night film “Mr. Soul,” a documentary about pioneering black culture show host Ellis Haizlip. Haizlip produced “Soul” in the late 1960s and early 1970s, showcasing black artists and thinkers. The closing film will be “Care to Laugh,” about a comedian who cares for ill parents while juggling his career.
Shows will be at the AMC Castleton and Traders Point theatres, as well as at Newfields (Indianapolis Museum of Art) Toby Theatre. Individual tickets may be purchased at theatres for $12 or online at heartlandfilm.org for $12 ($10 for members). Festival passes are available for $130 for nonmembers (good for matinee screenings that begin before 5 p.m. any day during the festival), $260 Cinephile Fest pass (good for all shows), or $100 for a $10 pack (available online only).
Several U.S. film premieres will be held at the festival, including “Anthem of a Teenage Prophet” and “Silver Lake,” while there will be a world premier of Indianapolis’ own native son documentary, “God Bless You, Mr. Vonnegut.” Another noted Hoosier featured in a documentary is Mickey Maurer in “My Friend Mickey: Common Decency and the American Dream.” Other world premieres include Indiana-focused “Palace,” and “Beyond Skiing Everest.”
Among the films to be shown at the festival, “Eva,” about the Holocaust survivor, has already garnered praise from critics and audiences alike (showing at the Toby at Newfields, AMC Traders Point, and AMC Castleton). High profile films that have been getting some Oscars buzz will also be featured, including Joel Edgarton’s “Boy Erased, “ Peter Farrelly’s “Green Book,” and Paul Dano’s “Wildlife.”
Foreign Language contenders will be shown at the Castleton location, and will include 15 films that are their country’s offical submission for the Academy Awards. Films from Lithuania, Japan, Egypt, Slovenia, and many other nations will be represented.
Audiences are asked after every screening to “rate” the show, and at the end of the festival, an Audience Choice award is given in Narrative and Documentary categories.
For more information and to buy tickets online, visit the Web site heartlandfilm.org.
