A Truly Moving Event
The Heartland Film Festival celebrates movies that inspire—and Hollywood is catching the vision. Meet this year's award winners, and the man who launched it all.
By Mark Moring | posted 10/20/2006
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For the 17th straight year, a film festival in Indianapolis is recognizing the finest in independent filmmaking, lauding movies that, according to its mission statement, "artistically express hope and respect for the positive values of life."
Founded in 1992 by Jeffrey Sparks and a few movie-loving friends from college, the Heartland Film Festival has grown from a small-time event to one of the most revered festivals in the industry. In recent years, the festival—and the organization behind it—has caught the eye of major Hollywood studios, who covet Heartland's stamp of approval on their big-release movies.
A few of those studio reps were in attendance at Saturday night's Crystal Heart Awards Gala, an Oscar-like ceremony that lauds the little guy, giving major cash awards to independent filmmakers who create movies that stir the soul.
Ralph Winter, a producer (the X-Men and Fantastic Four films) for 20th Century Fox, has long been a supporter of Heartland. Having recently wrapped filming in Australia on X-Men Origins: Wolverine (due in May 2009), Winter took time from his busy schedule to hang out in Indy for a few days to give a seminar, encourage young filmmakers, and to present some awards at Saturday's banquet.
Heartland CEO Jeff Sparks (left) with Saturday's winners
Saturday's biggest winner was Captain Abu Raed, which took the $100,000 Grand Prize Award for Best Dramatic Feature. The film, directed by Jordanian immigrant Amin Matalqa, earlier this year won the Audience Award at Sundance. Jordan's entry into the Oscars, Abu Raed is about an airport janitor whom local kids think is an airline pilot; he gives them hope and inspiration by telling them fantastic stories.
Pray the Devil Back to Hell won the $25,000 Award for Best Documentary Feature. The movie depicts Liberian women demanding peace in their war-torn country, staging public protest and demonstrations at great risk to themselves and their communities. (As We Forgive, previously featured at CT Movies, was one of several films up for that award.)
Also, the $10,000 Vision Award for Best Short Film went to Victoria.
Heartland also honored Hollywood veteran Bob Berney, a marketing and distribution exec behind such films as Kit Kittredge and Whale Rider, with the Pioneering Spirit Award for "bringing these powerful and inspiring movies to the masses," said Sparks.
Saturday's event also recognized 15 films selected throughout the year as Truly Moving Pictures—major Hollywood releases that meet Heartland's criteria. Those films include Prince Caspian, Wall• E, The Bucket List, Enchanted, and Henry Poole Is Here.
This year's festival kicked off on October 16 with another Truly Moving Picture—the North American premiere of The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, a fictional drama about the Holocaust as seen through the innocent eyes of an 8-year-old boy. The Miramax film opens in theaters on Nov. 7.
This year's Heartland event also featured the festival premiere of Disney's Tinker Bell, a straight-to-DVD film and the first of Disney's new Fairy series. Director Brad Raymond was in attendance on Saturday night.
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