Heartland Film Festival Names 2016 Winners
Organizers say they received a record 2
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowOrganizers of the 25th annual Heartland Film Festival in Indianapolis have announced this year’s full slate of winners. The festival has awarded nearly $130,000 in cash prizes to this year’s winners.
The festival has awarded more than $3 million to independent filmmakers since 1992. The top prizes went to "Home Care," for Best Narrative Feature and "Night School," for Best Documentary Feature. The Heartland Film Festival is is a qualifying festival for the Academy Awards in the short films category. That means "The Ravens," which won the Heartland prize for Best Narrative Short Film, qualifies for Academy Award consideration.
The 26th annual Heartland Film Festival runs October 19-29. The submission period begins in February.
The full slate of 2016 Heartland Film Festival winners includes:
$45,000 Grand Prize for Best Narrative Feature
• “Home Care,” directed by Slávek Horák (Czech Republic, Slovak Republic)
$45,000 Grand Prize for Best Documentary Feature
• “Night School,” directed by Andrew Cohn (USA), sponsored by Innovative
$5,000 Grand Prize for Best Narrative Short
Underwritten by Heartland Film Endowment’s Sparks Vision Award
• “The Ravens,” directed by Jennifer Perrot (Australia)
$5,000 Grand Prize for Best Documentary Short
Underwritten by Heartland Film Endowment’s Sparks Vision Award
• “Mining Poems or Odes,” directed by Callum Rice (United Kingdom)
$5,000 Grand Prize for Best Animated Short
• “Borrowed Time,” directed by Andrew Coats & Lou Hamou-Lhadj (USA)
$5,000 Best Premiere for Narrative Feature
• “Winter Thaw,” directed by Adam Thomas Anderegg (USA, Lithuania)
$5,000 Best Premiere for Documentary Feature
• “Facing Darkness,” directed by Arthur Rasco (USA, Liberia)
$5,000 Indiana Spotlight Winner
• “Go Get Your Horn,” directed by Tim Taylor (USA)
$2,000 Summer White Lynch Memorial Award – High School Film Competition Grand Prize
Underwritten by Gary D. & Marlene Cohen
• “The Optimist,” directed by John Mervin (USA)
$5,000 Jimmy Stewart Legacy Award Winner
• “Wild Prairie Rose,” directed by Deborah LaVine (USA)
The inaugural Jimmy Stewart Legacy Award honors a single film, selected from the Festival’s feature-length narrative and documentary titles. This film embodies the ongoing legacy of actor and national hero Jimmy Stewart and demonstrates the triumph of the human spirit through determination and the defiance of odds, humble vulnerability, and courage in the face of adversity. Made possible by a partnership with The Stewart Family.
Audience Choice Award Winner, Narrative Feature
• “Te Ata,” directed by Nathan Frankowski (USA)
Audience Choice Award Winner, Documentary Feature
• “Night School,” directed by Andrew Cohn (USA)
Audience Choice Award Winner, Narrative Short
• “La Femme et le TGV,” directed by Timo von Gunten (Switzerland)
Audience Choice Award Winner, Documentary Short
• “Good Business,” directed by Robert Schermbrucker (South Africa)
Audience Choice Award Winner, Animated Short
• “Violet,” directed by Maurice Joyce (Ireland)
Encore performances of feature-length finalists will screen Sunday, Oct. 30 exclusively at AMC Castleton Square 14, followed by Closing Night film “Josephine,” directed by Rory Feek.