While we as a society still continue to deal with the coronavirus pandemic, the Indy Shorts International Film Festival has figured out a safe way to still bring movie lovers the goodness they crave.

From July 21-26, Indy Shorts will present 128 short films from around the world via virtual and drive-in screenings to ensure safety and enthusiastic participation. Virtual screenings and filmmaker Q&A’s will be made available via Eventlive, while four nights of drive-in screenings will also take place at the Tibbs Drive-In Theatre here in Indianapolis.

Sunset sky with the drive-in theatre with carsSince 2009, shorts programmed by Heartland have gone on to earn 19 Academy Award® nominations and seven Academy Award® wins with an active five-year winning streak. Just recently, the 2018 Indy Shorts Documentary Finalist “Period. End of Sentence.” won an Academy Award® for Best Documentary Short Subject.

Filmmakers from around the world are invited to submit films; student filmmakers are welcomed in each category as well. Indy Shorts will select and honor films in several categories, with all winners to play encore screenings at the Heartland International Film Festival in October.

AWARDS & PRIZES

The 2020 Indy Shorts event will bestow more than $30,000 in cash prizes across multiple categories, including:

  • Narrative Short ($5,000 Cash Prize) Academy Award®-qualified category. Five finalists in competition
  • Documentary Short ($5,000 Cash Prize) Academy Award®-qualified category. Five finalists in competition
  • Animated Short ($5,000 Cash Prize) Five finalists in competition
  • High School Film Competition (HSFC) ($2,000 Summer White Lynch Memorial Grand Prize, Underwritten by Gary D. and Marlene Cohen. Four category winners awarded $500 each – Narrative, Documentary, Animated, Indiana
  • Indiana Spotlight Competition ($1,500 Cash Prize)
  • Jenni Berebitsky Legacy Award ($1,800 Cash Prize)
  • Heartland Horror Award ($1,000 Cash Prize)
  • Best Comedy Short ($1,000 Cash Prize)
  • Best Directorial Debut ($1,000 Cash Prize)
  • Best Student Film Awards ($1,000 Cash Prize each) Categories of Narrative, Documentary, Animated, Indiana
  • Audience Choice Awards in the Narrative, Documentary, Animated, Indiana Spotlight, Comedy, Heartland Horror categories ($250 each)

For more information on this year's Indy Shorts, be sure to visit the festival's official website.