Heartland Film Festival comes to Indianapolis

An array of independent films and special film-related events, similar to the Sundance Film Festival, will be close at hand next week when the Heartland Film Festival comes to Indianapolis.\nIn preparation for the festival, independent filmmakers submitted 579 films for consideration. Of the submitted contest films, 21 will be shown at the festival. \n"It's a great lineup," Heartland Film Festival President and Co-founder Jeff Sparks said. "There's something for everyone."\nSparks said the Heartland Film Festival is quickly becoming one of the best film festivals in the country. Many filmmakers who have attended in past years agree.\n"The 2003 Heartland Film Festival was a very rejuvenating experience for me, and an unexpectedly inspiring one as well," Don Hahn, producer of "The Lion King" and "Beauty and the Beast," said in a press release.\nAlthough Sparks was hesitant to name the best films in the festival, he highly recommended a number of films for college students.\n"Killer Diller," starring Lucas Black and William Lee Scott and directed by Tricia Brock, chronicles the efforts by a guitar-playing car thief and an autistic blues pianist forming the Killer Diller blues band. "Miracle Mile," a dramatic short directed by Dong Hyeuk Hwang about an illegal Korean-American cab driver and a young Korean girl, will precede the movie.\nIn "Burying the Past: Legacy of the Mountain Meadows Massacre" director/producer Brian Patrick chronicles the events surrounding the Mountain Meadows Massacre in Utah in 1857, when a Mormon group massacred a wagon train of settlers bound for California under a white flag. The film includes a reenactment of the incident and interviews with historians and descendants of the few survivors. It also focuses on reconciliation between the Mormons and the descendants of the survivors. \n"It's a movie, but it has a lot to do with why they did it and why they're maybe trying to cover it up, and it's about reconciliation," Patrick said.\nFew people know about the massacre, which Patrick says is a sore subject within the Mormon community. In fact, some Mormon groups have been deeply offended by the film, even sparking threats of a boycott of Spudfest, a film festival in Idaho..\nPatrick said he believes "Burying the Past" will interest people with its virtually unknown story. \n"It's a horrific story, and it's an incredible story," Patrick said. "Not many people know about it, and I think that's what makes it compelling."\nIn addition to film screenings, the Heartland Film Festival offers many special events. One such event is the filmmakers' brunch at 11:30 a.m. Sunday at the Marriott Downtown. During the brunch, the general public will have the opportunity to speak to various filmmakers in an informal setting. Tickets are $30.\nAnother event Sparks said he is excited about is the 2004 Education Seminar. This seminar, which takes place from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Oct. 25, will feature two separate programs -- "An Inside Look into Film and Music" by music editor Joseph DeBeasi, and "Creative Screenwriting in Today's Film Industry" by screenwriter Mike Rich, who also wrote "Finding Forrester." Tickets for the event cost $25 for adults and $15 for students and teachers. \nMany of the films shown are recipients of the "Crystal Heart Award." This annual award is given to a select group of independent filmmakers for dramatic, documentary and animated films of any length. The awards are presented at the annual Crystal Heart Awards Gala, with a $50,000 grand prize for best dramatic feature also being announced. \nSparks said he is very excited about this year's film festival and encourages college-aged film lovers to attend.\n"A lot of college students say, 'I want to go to Sundance' but this is a lot more accessible," Sparks said. It's right in their backyard, and it's one of the biggest festivals in the country."\nFor more information, and a full schedule of events, visit www.heartlandfilmfestival.org.\n-- Contact staff writer Jenny Kobiela at