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

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.

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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.

Heartland's beginnings

The seeds of Heartland were planted almost four decades ago when Sparks went to the University of Evansville and roomed with Matt Williams and Dave McFadzean, fellow Christians and theater majors who ended up in TV—Williams as a writer on The Cosby Show and as the creator of Roseanne, and McFadzean as creator of Home Improvement.

Sparks didn't follow his friends to Hollywood, but ended up directing a treatment center for emotionally disturbed children—a job he has since left to run Heartland full-time.

But the three men stayed in touch and in 1986—with several others—formed The New Harmony Project, an Indianapolis-based group created to encourage young writers. At the time, they talked about some day starting a film festival that recognized inspiring movies.

In February of 1991, Sparks and another friend, Dan Johnson, put together a proposal for the film fest, pitching the idea to several foundations in their search for funding.

Jeffrey Sparks

Jeffrey Sparks

"We didn't know what we were doing at the beginning," Sparks says. "And honestly, there's something to be said for that, because we didn't try to duplicate other film festivals. We wanted to be about celebrating filmmakers and their work—filmmakers first, their work second. It's about the writer and the director. So we wanted to give a good, big cash prize."

They got $100,000 in funding, and Sparks and friends were quickly on to something big. Independent filmmakers certainly appreciate the awards they pick up at festivals, but without money, they can't go back and make more movies. That's why Heartland has always focused on giving significant cash prizes to the filmmakers it recognizes.

"I don't know a lot of great things, but carving out that niche really helped us to get noticed," says Sparks. "But it wasn't just about the money for the filmmakers. From the beginning, we said it's about affecting culture, having a positive impact."

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The first Heartland Film Festival was held in Indianapolis in 1991, attracting about 2,500 attendees to its multiple screenings. That has grown to a nine-day event this year, October 16-24, and is expected to draw some 22,000 moviegoers to various screenings of 37 Official Selection films and a few other special events.

What Heartland is … and isn't

while celebrating indie filmmakers and their movies was a good idea, Sparks and his friends soon found that much of the public wasn't paying attention. So they decided to start recognizing major theatrical releases to increase the recognition factor.

"When you start talking about independent films that most people haven't heard of, that didn't help [in trying to raise the festival's profile]," Sparks says. "But when you can say, 'Hey, we honored Forrest Gump and Babe,' people start to get what you're doing."

Thus was born the idea of the Truly Moving Pictures award, which Heartland gives to major films before they release. There's no cash prize—the big studios don't need the money—but it's a recognition that the studios covet when trying to market to an audience that appreciates hopeful, inspirational films. (For a complete list of Truly Moving Pictures, click here.)

"It's a great phrase [Truly Moving Pictures] because people love talking about movies that moved them," Sparks says. "Now we've got a 'descriptive' of what we do. The problems I had before of telling people what we're about started to fall into place. Studios started using it more and more."

Studios are not only using it to promote their theatrical releases, but also by putting the Truly Moving Pictures logo on their DVD releases as a marketing technique.

When describing what Heartland is, it's also important to note what it isn't. The movies it lauds are not necessarily "safe for the whole family," though most are. Some of the films are edgy and tackle difficult content, but the theme—"artistically expressing hope and respect for the positive values of life"—remains intact.

And while Sparks is a devout Christian, as are many of the co-founders and those working with Heartland today, it's not a Christian film festival. Films with Christian themes and by Christian filmmakers are frequently among those honored, but "Christian content" is not among the criteria for Heartland.

Sparks elaborates: "We fight with the Coasts on the mentality about Heartland. I don't want to say we fight with 'the industry,' because it's more about the Coasts. They assume because it's 'Heartland' that it's 'family' or 'conservative' or 'Christian' or—and the 'ors' go on and on. But that's not what we are.

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"The assumptions are very frustrating at times. We do have films that are family-friendly and kid-friendly. We have films that have a faith walk from time to time. But that's not what we are."

Sparks adds, "I don't mind personally talking about my faith, but Heartland is not a Christian organization. We have people of faith who are connected with us, and we have people connected with us who aren't people of faith."

Hollywood's elite are raving about Heartland.

Disney Chairman Dick Cook: "Heartland Film Festival and Walt Disney have proven the naysayers wrong by celebrating and developing films that not only do good box office business, but also send positive messages, take hold of the imagination, and offer a great all around movie experience for everyone."

Award-winning director Steven Spielberg on winning a Truly Moving Picture award for Saving Private Ryan: "This is one of the best and greatest awards. I also accept this as a challenge to continue to do work that can meet your standard of excellence. Every year you set the bar very high. Keep it high and filmmakers will strive—I promise you—to sail over it and enjoy landing right smack in the 'Heartland' of America."

Award-winning actress Ellen Burstyn: "I am filled with gratitude to all of you people who have this absolutely divine idea of spreading out across the country from the Heartland positive, good, life-affirming energy."

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