Shooting Dogs Tops at Heartland

Shooting Dogs, a film based on a true story about a young teacher in a Rwandan Catholic school trying to save the children from genocide, won the $100,000 grand prize for Best Dramatic Feature at the 15th annual Crystal Heart Awards Gala, one of the highlights of the Heartland Film Festival’s annual event in Indianapolis.

The festival celebrated and honored some of the world’s brightest and most ambitious filmmakers at the event, where awards and $200,000 in cash prizes were presented to 17 films.

Heartland also announced The Hip Hop Project as the winner of the inaugural $25,000 Award for Best Documentary Feature and “Shade” as the recipient of the $10,000 Vision Award for Best Short Film.”

Award-winning correspondent Carlos Diaz from Extra emceed the formal ceremony and special guests Jon Voight (Glory Road), Lee Meriwether (Love Boat), Judy Stewart(The Stewart Foundation) and Greg Paul (The Stewart Foundation and President of Castle Rock Entertainment) presented awards.

Heartland paid special tribute to Producer Debra Martin Chase with the Saab Pioneering Spirit Award for her creative spirit in filmmaking and for continually supporting Heartland’s mission. Chase has won two Heartland Truly Moving Picture Awards for The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants and The Princess Diaries and one Crystal Heart Award for Hank Aaron: Chasing the Dream.

“Heartland is thrilled to honor its long-time friend, Debra Martin Chase, with the Saab Pioneering Spirit Award,” said Jeffrey L. Sparks, president and CEO of Heartland Film Festival. “We thank Debra for her dedication to making films that enrich lives and for inspiring young filmmakers and Hollywood to follow in her footsteps.”

During the program, Heartland honored 17 dramatic and documentary short and feature-length films. Three student films received Jimmy Stewart Memorial Crystal Heart Awards, and 14 films were honored with Crystal Heart Awards. These films were selected from a record 647 submissions for top artistic and technical merit and for best meeting Heartland’s mission.

The filmmakers honored with Jimmy Stewart Memorial Crystal Heart Awards for the best student films included: Queen of Cactus Cove (producer/director/writer Anna Christopher); Sirah (director/writer Cristine Spindler); and Wednesday (producer/director Joel Nassan).

The filmmakers honored with Crystal Heart Awards included: The Cross and the Towers (directors Andy Erwin and Jon Erwin); Emily’s Song (producer/director/writer Frank Kelly); Forgiving Dr. Mengele (producers/directors Bob Hercules and Cheri Pugh); The Hip Hop Project (producer/director Matt Ruskin); I Want to Be a Pilot (producer/director/writer Diego Quemada-Diez); Ithuteng (producers Charlie Ebersol and Kip Kroeger, director Willie Ebersol); A Man Named Pearl (producers/directors Scott Galloway and Brent Pierson); Mother of Mine (producer Ilkka Matila); Outlaw Trail (producer Adam Abel and producer/director Ryan Little); Secret of the Cave (producer/writer David George, director/writer Zach Gray, producer Ben Mitzelfelt and producer Mark Thomas); Shade (producer Hilary Glaholt); Shooting Dogs (writer David Wolstencroft); The Ultimate Gift (executive producer Paul Brooks and producer Rick Eldridge); and Window (director/writer Varda Hardy).

Heartland also recognized 13 films selected as 2006 recipients of the Truly Moving Picture Award, including: Cars, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Everyone’s Hero, Flicka, Glory Road, The Lake House, Lassie, Nanny McPhee, The Queen, Saving Shiloh, Sophie Scholl: The Final Days, Take the Lead and Tsotsi. Actor Jon Voight was on hand to receive the Truly Moving PictureAward for Glory Road, and actress Julia Jentsch accepted for Sophie Scholl: The Final Days.

Heartland Film Festival, a non-profit organization, was established in 1991 to recognize and honor filmmakers whose work explores the human journey by artistically expressing hope and respect for the positive values of life. Each October, Heartland screens Truly Moving Pictures from around the world and presents cash prizes and Crystal Heart Awards to the Festival’s top entries.