International short film festival honors short films for outstanding quality – winners receive more than $30,000 in cash prizes and Academy Award®-qualification
INDIANAPOLIS – Heartland Film, Inc. has selected film winners for their Indy Shorts International Film Festival, Indianapolis’ only short film festival and an Academy Award®-qualifying event. Indy Shorts exclusively features short films 40 minutes or less in length, and with over 120 films shown, the festival is the largest of its kind in the Midwest. The festival is also one of the largest cash awarding short film festivals in North America, bestowing more than $30,000 in cash prizes across multiple categories.
Below is a complete listing of the award-winning films, as announced at the Indy Shorts Awards Presentation Saturday, July 25, 2020:
Grand Prize for Best Narrative Short Film – DA YIE
$5,000 Cash Prize/Academy Award®-Qualified
Director: Anthony Nti
Grand Prize for Best Documentary Short Film – BLACKFEET BOXING: NOT INVISIBLE
$5,000 Cash Prize/Academy Award®-Qualified
Directors: Kristen Lappas, Tom Rinaldi
Grand Prize for Best Animated Short Film – TRACES
$5,000 Cash Prize
Directors: Hugo Frassetto, Sophie Tavert Macian
High School Film Competition Summer White Lynch Memorial Award – WHIPPED CREAM CAKE
$2,000 Cash Prize Underwritten by Gary D. & Marlene Cohen
Directors: Raymond Mo, Minju Hong
Indiana Spotlight Award – 20 OVER
$1,500 Cash Prize
Director: Chad Veal
Jenni Berebitsky Legacy Award – GRAB MY HAND: A LETTER TO MY DAD
$1,800 Cash Prize
Directors: Camrus Johnson & Pedro Piccinini
Heartland Horror Award – WHO GOES THERE?
$1,000 Cash Prize
Director: Astrid Thorvaldsen
Comedy Award – A PIECE OF CAKE
$1,000 Cash Prize
Director: The Bragg Brothers
Directorial Debut – BROKEN BIRD
$1,000 Cash Prize
Director: Rachel Harrison Gordon
Best Narrative Student Film – YELLOW GIRL AND ME
$1,000 Cash Prize
Director: Isabella Issa
AFI Conservatory in Los Angeles
Best Documentary Student Film – NO CRYING AT THE DINNER TABLE
$1,000 Cash Prize
Director: Carol Nguyen
Concordia University in Canada
Best Animated Student Film – o28
$1,000 Cash Prize
Directors: Otalia Caussé, Geoffroy Collin, Louise Grardel, Antoine Marchand, Robin Merle, Fabien Meyran
Supinfocom Rubika in France
Best Indiana Student Film – 20 OVER
$1,000 Cash Prize
Director: Chad Veal
Taylor University, Upland, Indiana
High School Film Competition: Narrative Category Winner – CAT
$500 Cash Prize
Director: Madeleine White
Viewpoint School, Los Angeles, CA
High School Film Competition: Documentary Category Winner – LAST CHANCE DANCE
$500 Cash Prize
Directors: Steven Yao, Molly Stanfield
Baylor School, Chattanooga, TN
High School Film Competition: Animated Category Winner – INSTINCT
$500 Cash Prize
Director: Yinuo Wei
Tarbut V. Torah Community Day School, Irvine, CA
High School Film Competition: Indiana Category Winner – WHIPPED CREAM CAKE
$500 Cash Prize
Directors: Raymond Mo, Minju Hong
Carmel High School, Carmel, IN
Narrative Short Film: Audience Choice Winner – THE PRESENT
$250 Cash Prize
Director: Farah Nabulsi
Overall / Documentary Short Film: Audience Choice Winner – CAMP ALEC
$250 Cash Prize
Director: Christopher Stoudt
Animated Short Film: Audience Choice Winner – UMBRELLA
$250 Cash Prize
Directors: Helena Hilario, Mario Pece
Indiana Spotlight: Audience Choice Winner – SONNIE
$250 Cash Prize
Director: Sam Mirpoorian
IUPUI, Indianapolis, IN
Heartland Horror: Audience Choice Winner – WHO GOES THERE?
$250 Cash Prize
Director: Astrid Thorvaldsen
National Film & Television School, United Kingdom
Comedy: Audience Choice Winner – A PIECE OF CAKE
$250 Cash Prize
Directors: The Bragg Brothers
High School Film Competition: Audience Choice Winner – STITCHING A LIFE: THE STORY OF TRUDIE STROBEL
$250 Cash Prize
Directors: Spirit Avedon, Natasha Clement, Lila Dworsky-Hickey, Ian Kim, Miranda Lewis
The Righteous Conversations Project, Los Angeles, CA
*Indy Shorts is an Academy Award®-qualifying film festival in both the Live Action and Documentary Short Subject film categories, and the winners of the Narrative and Documentary Grand Prizes will qualify for Academy Awards® without the standard theatrical run, granted it meets all the other requirements needed to qualify.
