Special Events, Pavilion and Premieres Schedule

"LBJ" - Opening Night Screening & After-Party

Thursday, Oct. 12 - Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields
Screening: 7 p.m. - Party to follow screening
Tickets: $50 / $42 members

After powerful Senate Majority Leader Lyndon Johnson (Woody Harrelson) loses the 1960 Democratic presidential nomination to Senator John F. Kennedy (Jeffrey Donovan), he agrees to be his young rival’s running mate. But once they win the election, despite his extensive legislative experience and shrewd political instincts, Johnson finds himself sidelined in the role of vice president. That all changes on Nov. 22, 1963, when Kennedy is assassinated and Johnson, with his devoted wife Lady Bird (Jennifer Jason Leigh) by his side, is suddenly thrust into the presidency. As the nation mourns, Johnson must contend with longtime adversary Attorney General Bobby Kennedy (Michael Stahl-David) and one-time mentor Georgia Senator Richard Russell (Richard Jenkins) as he seeks to honor JFK’s legacy by championing the historic Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Director Rob Reiner scheduled to attend.

Kick off the 2017 Heartland Film Festival with fellow film lovers and filmmakers at a special event screening honoring Rob Reiner with the Pioneering Spirit: Lifetime Achievement Award and an after-party featuring live music by Josh Kaufman (“The Voice” winner), food from Kahn's Catering, and dancing!

Sponsored by The David and Betty Klapper Family Foundation

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GLOW: Awards Party

Saturday, Oct. 21 - The Hi-Fi/Pure Eatery in Fountain Square
7 - 10:30 p.m. 
Tickets: $30/$25 members, $100 VIP tickets available

GLOW: Awards Party is not your typical awards show. The night will shine a light on our top Festival award winners with a neon glow party featuring DJ Michael Graves, Pork and Beans Brass Band, Pinvault Pinball, food trucks, and so much more! Come dressed in your boldest colors to be a part of GLOW: Awards Party in Indianapolis' trendy Fountain Square cultural district.

At GLOW: Awards Party, we will recognize the best independent filmmakers from all over the world and bestow the Festival’s top prizes, which include
the following: 

• $25,000 Grand Prize for Best Narrative Feature
• $25,000 Grand Prize for Best Documentary Feature
• $5,000 Grand Prize for Best Narrative Short*
  Underwritten by Heartland Film Endowment’s Sparks Vision Award
• $5,000 Grand Prize for Best Documentary Short
  Underwritten by Heartland Film Endowment’s Sparks Vision Award
• $5,000 Grand Prize for Best Animated Short
• $3,500 Prizes for Best U.S./World Premieres, Narrative & Doc. Features
• $5,000 for Best Indiana Spotlight Film
• $5,000 Prize for the Jimmy Stewart Legacy Award
• $2,000 Summer White Lynch Grand Prize Winner of the High School Film Competition - Underwritten by Gary D. & Marlene Cohen

Sponsored by The David and Betty Klapper Family Foundation

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Filmmakers' Brunch

Sunday, Oct. 22 - The Montage
11 a.m.
Tickets: $35/$29 members

Discover the inspiration behind some of your favorite Heartland Film Festival movies by joining the filmmakers for an informal brunch. Don’t miss this unique opportunity to speak one-on-one with fascinating storytellers and to hear different perspectives on all aspects of the filmmaking process.

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"Laddie: The Man Behind the Movies" - Closing Night Screening & Party

Sunday, Oct. 22 - AMC Castleton Square 14
Screening: 7 p.m. - Party to follow screening at the Woodbridge Pavilion
Tickets: $40/$34 screening & party, $20/$17 members screening only

"Laddie: The Man Behind the Movies" is one daughter's journey to discover her father, Alan Ladd, Jr, the quiet studio head and producer behind such iconic films as "Star Wars," "Alien," "Blade Runner," "Chariots of Fire," and "Young Frankenstein." Amanda Ladd-Jones' quest leads her to understand her father as the man that he is and the impact he's had on American Cinema.

Director Amanda Ladd-Jones scheduled to attend.

Cap off the Heartland Film Festival with a special screening honoring Alan Ladd Jr. with Heartland Film’s Pioneering Spirit: Lifetime Achievement Award

Sponsored by The David and Betty Klapper Family Foundation

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Film Critics Panel

Friday, Oct. 13 - 7 p.m.
Free, but ticketed

What does it take to be a film critic? Join moderator Chaz Ebert as she discusses the intricacies of film criticism with renowned local and international industry professionals. Panelists include Klaus Eder (General Secretary of the International Federation of Film Critics), Christopher Lloyd, and Richard Propes.

Indiana Filmmakers Panel

Tuesday, Oct. 17 - 6 p.m.
Free, but ticketed

What are the challenges and advantages of local filmmakers in Indianapolis? Join moderator Nathan Bechtold (Indiana Filmmakers Network) as he discusses the Indy film scene with local industry professionals. Panelists Amy Pauszek, Glenn Pratt, and Jack Lugar

Women In Film Panel

Wednesday, Oct. 18 - 5:30 p.m.
Free, but ticketed 

What's it like being a female filmmaker in a male dominated industry? Join moderator Barbara Ann O'Leary (Directed by Women) as she discusses tricks of the trade and industry insights with three industry professionals. Panelists Naghmeh Farzaneh, Laura Goodenow, and Andie Redwine.

Entertainment Law Panel: What’s Next for My Film? 

Thursday, Oct. 19 - 3 p.m.
Tickets $25 public, $20 Heartland Film members, or $90 for attorneys seeking to earn two CLE credits.

Completing a film requires hard work, creativity, and never-ending money-raising efforts. But what happens next? This panel of experts will help filmmakers understand their options. Should they secure a distributor and what does that mean? What are the advantages and disadvantages of filmmakers working the film festival circuit and what legal rights do filmmakers maintain? This and more will be addressed during this program of particular interest to filmmakers and fans of filmmaking. Moderated by Cate Sabatine (Co-chair, Indianapolis Bar Association’s Sports & Entertainment Law Executive Committee) with panelists Ron Elberger (Bose McKinney & Evans), Neil Friedman (Founder/President, Menemsha Films), Angelo Pizzo (“Hoosiers,” “Rudy,” “My All-American”).

Voyage of the Southern Sun

U.S. Premiere, Documentary Feature, Official Selection, Australia
Premiere Screening: Friday, Oct. 13, 5:30 p.m.
AMC Castleton Square 14, Tickets $12 (regular screening, no after party) 

Director: Robert Murphy

Australian Geographic's Adventurer of the Year, Michael Smith, discovered the delights and perils of true adventure in a solo circumnavigation in his tiny amphibious flying boat, Southern Sun, that retraced historical Qantas, Imperial and Pan Am airmail routes, in search of the glory days of 1930s aviation.

"Voyage of the Southern Sun" will play one additional time during the 2017 Heartland Film Festival.

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Marvin Booker Was Murdered

U.S. Premiere, Documentary Feature, Official Selection
Special Event Premiere Screening: Friday, Oct. 13, 7:15 p.m. w/ after party to follow at the Woodbridge Pavilion
AMC Castleton Square 14, Tickets $20/$16 members 

Director: Wade Gardner

Marvin Booker was murdered. The jail guards lied. The city of Denver covered it up.
The Booker family lived it. Their attorneys exposed it. We reveal it.

Director Wade Gardner and members of the Booker family scheduled to attend the premiere.

"Marvin Booker Was Murdered" will play one additional time during the 2017 Heartland Film Festival.

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blank 13

U.S. Premiere, Narrative Feature, Official Selection, Japan
Premiere Screening: Friday, Oct. 13, 8:45 p.m.
AMC Castleton Square 14, Tickets $12 (regular screening, no after party) 

Director: Takumi Saitoh 

Following the death of his deadbeat father, a son discovers that there was more to him than anyone in the family suspected. In Japanese with English subtitles.

Director/Actor Takumi Saitoh scheduled to attend the premiere.

"blank 13" will play three additional times during the 2016 Heartland Film Festival.

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Tatterdemalion

World Premiere, Narrative Feature, Official Selection
Special Event Premiere Screening: Saturday, Oct. 14, 2:30 p.m. w/ after party to follow at the Woodbridge Pavilion
AMC Castleton Square 14, Tickets $20/$16 members 

Director: Ramaa Mosley 

A dramatic thriller about an army veteran suffering from PTSD who returns home to the Ozarks to look for her brother, but finds an abandoned boy in the woods. As she searches for answers about who the child is, she discovers a mysterious world of folk lore, clan rules and lies.

Director Ramaa Mosley and Actor Leven Rambin scheduled to attend with additional cast and crew.

"Tatterdemalion" will play one additional time during the 2017 Heartland Film Festival.

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No Postage Necessary

World Premiere, Narrative Feature, Official Selection
Special Event Premiere Screening: Saturday, Oct. 14, 7 p.m. w/ after party to follow at the Woodbridge Pavilion
AMC Castleton Square 14, Tickets $20/$16 members 

Director: Jeremy Culver 

When a brilliant computer hacker tries to win the heart of a war widow, he must become the man he’s always envisioned or risk going back to prison.

Cast and crew scheduled to attend the premiere.

"No Postage Necessary" will play one additional time during the 2017 Heartland Film Festival.

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The New Fire

World Premiere, Documentary Feature, Official Selection
Premiere Screening: Saturday, Oct. 14, 7:30 p.m.
AMC Castleton Square 14, Tickets $12 members (regular screening, no after party)

Director: David Schumacher

The good news—there’s a new solution to climate change. The bad news—we may not like it.
From MIT to Silicon Valley, young engineers are rebooting a controversial and all but abandoned technology—nuclear power.

Director David Schumacher scheduled to attend.

"The New Fire" will play one additional time during the 2017 Heartland Film Festival.

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Triumph: The Untold Story of Perry Wallace

World Premiere, Documentary Feature, Official Selection
Special Event Premiere Screening: Sunday, Oct. 15, 2:45 p.m. w/ after party to follow at the Woodbridge Pavilion
AMC Castleton Square 14, Tickets $20/$16 members 

Director: Richard Gentile 

Narrated by Academy Award® winner Forest Whitaker, "Triumph" is a unique window on America’s civil rights movement that chronicles Perry Wallace’s evolution from a reluctant “pioneer” in the final throes of the “Jim Crow” era to a determined “game-changer.”

Director Richard Gentile scheduled to attend.

"Triumph: The Untold Story of Perry Wallace" will play one additional time at the 2017 Heartland Film Festival.

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Mum's List

U.S. Premiere, Narrative Feature, Official Selection, UK
Special Event Premiere Screening: Sunday, Oct. 15, 7:15 p.m. w/ after party to follow at the Woodbridge Pavilion
AMC Castleton Square 14, Tickets $20/$16 members 

Director: Niall Johnson 

A heart-warming true life story of Singe and Kate Greene, whose lives were turned upside down when Kate was diagnosed with an incurable breast cancer. Over her last few months she creates her list: writing her thoughts and memories down to help the man she loved create the best life possible for their two sons after she is gone.

Director Niall Johnson and Producer Nick Hamson scheduled to attend.

"Mum's List" will play one additional time during the 2017 Heartland Film Festival.

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Little Kyota Neon Hood

U.S. Premiere, Narrative Feature, Official Selection, Japan
Special Event Premiere Screening: Monday, Oct. 16, 5:15 p.m. w/ after party to follow at the Woodbridge Pavilion
AMC Castleton Square 14, Tickets $20/$16 members 

Director: Satsuki Okawa 

Kyota, a 12-year-old Japanese boy who’s never seen without his bright protective hood, learns that his beloved Scottish teacher is leaving town. The news causes a stir in the community, rekindling recent memories of their struggles in post-disaster Japan. Suitable for all audiences

Director/Writer Satsuki Okawa scheduled to attend the premiere.

"Little Kyota Neon Hood" will play one additional time during the 2017 Heartland Film Festival.

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Maestras - The Long Journey of Women to the Podium

U.S. Premiere, Documentary Feature, Official Selection, Germany
Special Event Premiere Screening: Monday, Oct. 16, 7:30 p.m. w/ after party to follow at the Woodbridge Pavilion
AMC Castleton Square 14, Tickets $20/$16 members 

Directors: Günter Atteln, Maria Stodtmeier 

Being a female conductor means being an exception, even today. But why is it that there have been so few female conductors in the international music scene? The film “Maestras” takes a closer look at this phenomenon. In German with English subtitles.

Director/Producer Günter Atteln scheduled to attend.

"Maestras" will play one additional time during the 2017 Heartland Film Festival.

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The Maestro

U.S. Premiere, Narrative Feature, Official Selection
Special Event Premiere Screening: Tuesday, Oct. 17, 7:30 p.m. w/ after party to follow at the Woodbridge Pavilion
AMC Castleton Square 14, Tickets $20/$16 members 

Director: Adam Cushman

After the Second World War, budding film composer Jerry Herst moves to Hollywood to study with infamous master teacher Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco.

Producer David J. Phillips scheduled to attend.

"The Maestro" will play one additional time during the 2017 Heartland Film Festival.

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Defining Hope

World Premiere, Documentary Feature, Official Selection
Premiere Screening: Tuesday, Oct. 17, 7:45 p.m. 
Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields, Tickets $12 (regular screening, no after party)

Director: Carolyn Jones

"Defining Hope" follows eight patients with life-threatening illnesses—and the nurses who guide them to make critical choices along the way—as they face death, embrace hope, and ultimately redefine what makes life worth living.

Director Carolyn Jones scheduled to attend.

"Defining Hope" will play one additional time during the 2017 Heartland Film Festival.

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The Drawer Boy

U.S. Premiere, Narrative Feature, Finalist, Canada/Mexico
Premiere Screening: Thursday, Oct. 19, 5:15 p.m. w/ after party to follow at the Woodbridge Pavilion
AMC Castleton Square 14, Tickets $20/$16 members 

Director: Arturo Pérez Torres 

An actor arrives to rural Ontario to gather stories about farm life and make a play about it. When art attempts to imitate life, the line between truth and fiction is crossed.

Director Arturo Pérez Torres scheduled to attend.

"The Drawer Boy" will play three additional times during the 2017 Heartland Film Festival.

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Instrument of War

World Premiere, Narrative Feature, Finalist, USA/Lithuania
Special Event Premiere Screening: Thursday, Oct. 19, 7:15 p.m. w/ after party to follow at the Woodbridge Pavilion
AMC Castleton Square 14, Tickets $20/$16 members 

Director: Adam Thomas Anderegg 

"Hello American. For you, the war is over.” When US B-24 bomber pilot Clair Cline is shot down and captured in northern Germany, one battle ends and another begins – to keep hope alive. Now behind Nazi barbed wire and oppression, Cline and his fellow POW’s must find a way to bond together to not just survive but transcend their captivity. Inspired by true events.

Director Adam Thomas Anderegg and Producer Russ Kendall scheduled to attend.

"Instrument of War" will play three additional times during the 2017 Heartland Film Festival.

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A Normal Life

U.S. Premiere, Narrative Feature, Official Selection
Special Event Premiere Screening: Friday, Oct. 20, 5:30 p.m. w/ after party to follow at the Woodbridge Pavilion
AMC Castleton Square 14, Tickets $20/$16 members 

Director: Alex Herz 

A week away from leaving for his first year of college, Michael becomes concerned about his parents’ overprotective tendencies toward his little brother, who has Down syndrome.

Director Alex Herz scheduled to attend.

"A Normal Life" will play one additional time during the 2017 Heartland Film Festival.

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The Best of All Worlds

U.S. Premiere, Narrative Feature, Official Selection, Austria
Special Event Premiere Screening: Friday, Oct. 20, 7:45 p.m. w/ after party to follow at the Woodbridge Pavilion
AMC Castleton Square 14, Tickets $20/$16 members 

Director: Adrian Goiginger 

The true story of a kid's life in the unusual world of his heroin-addict mother and their love
for each other.

Director Adrian Goiginger scheduled to attend.

"The Best of All Worlds" will play one additional time during the 2017 Heartland Film Festival.

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