Downtown
October 8 to October 18
Indiana’s largest and longest-running film festival will celebrate its 29th anniversary this October across Indianapolis! Since the inaugural Festival in 1992, Heartland has grown from a 4-day event with less than 20 films to an 11-day celebration featuring more than 200 independent films.
The Heartland Film Festival has earned the special designation of being a qualifying festival for the Annual Academy Awards® within the Short Films category. This means that the winner of the Grand Prize for Best Narrative Short Film will qualify for consideration in the Short Films category of the Annual Academy Awards® without the standard theatrical run, provided the film otherwise complies with the Academy rules. Since the first Festival in 1992, Heartland Film has awarded more than $3 million in cash prizes – the largest prize amount given to independent filmmakers by a festival in North America, and quite possibly the entire world.
The theme for the festival has been revealed! THE FULL SPECTRUM OF FILM was selected to celebrate the wide variety of genres, stories and perspectives from around the world that will be showcased in this year’s Festival.
Looking for a new way to experience #HIFF29? Well, you're in luck because Indy's favorite fall traditions are finally uniting! Mark your calendars because Conner Prairie is hosting THREE NIGHTS of pop-up drive-ins as a part of the 29th Heartland International Film Festival!
Heartland Film is scheduling two themed films an evening at this historic outdoor museum on October 12, 13, 14.
The full festival is running virtually October 8-18, along with drive-in screenings at Tibbs Drive-In Theatre and Conner Prairie. Fest Passes and Conner Prairie ticket packs can be pre-purchased now!
Heartland at Home
"MR. SOUL!," the Opening Night film from the 2018 Heartland International Film Festival will be available to view on Heartland at Home starting August 28.
From 1968 to 1973, the public television variety show SOUL!, guided by the enigmatic producer and host Ellis Haizlip, offered an unfiltered, uncompromising celebration of Black literature, poetry, music, and politics—voices that had few other options for national exposure, and, as a result, found the program an improbable place to call home.
The series was among the first to provide expanded images of African Americans on television, shifting the gaze from inner-city poverty and violence to the vibrancy of the Black Arts Movement. With participants’ recollections and a bevy of great archival clips, Mr. SOUL! captures a critical moment in culture whose impact continues to resonate.
Suggested for all audiences.
