INDIANAPOLIS – Living Room Theaters slowly came to life Saturday morning on the third day of the 33rd Heartland International Film Festival.
Running from Oct. 10-20, the multi-venue festival plans to host over 200 filmmakers and 110 films. Starting at noon, Oct. 12 saw screenings across the city of Indianapolis at Kan-Kan Cinema and Restaurant, Living Room Theaters, Landmark Glendale 12 Theater and Newfields, as well as virtually on Heartland Film’s Virtual Film Hub.
The day kicked off at Living Room Theaters with the second presentation of the Indy Shorts winners. The screening presented multiple short films, including “Purgatown,” winner of the Indiana Spotlight Award at Heartland Film’s High School Film Competition, and “Makayla's Voice: A Letter to the World,” a documentary about a teenage girl harnessing her voice while grappling with a form of autism that leaves her nonverbal. Heartland Film has hosted Indy Shorts International Film Festival since 2018, and the festival takes place during the summer.
John B. Ludwick, an associate professor at Ball State University, was a storyboard artist on “LUKi & the Lights,” an animated short film about amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Ludwick began working on the film in 2021 with director Toby Cochran.
“What you see in the film now is almost exactly what I storyboarded,” Ludwick said. “That’s a privilege.”
The film won the Audience Choice Award at Indy Shorts.
“Essentially, you’re trying to make this thing, and even though it’s a film, you’re trying to reach out and communicate with people and help them understand how you feel about a thing,” Ludwick said. “And to see that other people felt that way, I don’t know, is there a better reward than that?”
Jessica Chapman is the director of marketing at Heartland Film. On top of promoting the festival, she moderated Q&A sessions with filmmakers after screenings early in the day at Living Room Theaters. Chapman has attended HIFF since she was in middle school.
“It used to be our family fall tradition,” Chapman said. “We’d hop around to as many theaters as we could.”
Now, Chapman has a hand in creating the beauty of HIFF.
“I love the fact that these are films that you don’t necessarily see every day. Sometimes you’re getting sneak-peek looks at big films before they hit theaters. You’re also getting to see local Indiana filmmakers,” Chapman said. “But at the end of the day, I think my favorite part is being able to actually meet the filmmakers and hear from them from the Q&As. I think that’s kind of the beauty of the festival, is really connecting the audiences with the filmmakers.”
HIFF’s theme this year is Expand Your Universe. Chapman said film can transport a viewer across the galaxies of identity.
“Film has such a great way of really putting yourself in someone else’s shoes and allowing you to see other places and other ideas that you just might not have ever experienced before,” Chapman said.
Later in the day, the PitchDox Main Event started nearby at Kan-Kan Cinema and Restaurant. Five documentary filmmakers pitched their films for the chance to win $10,000 in funding. The event was hosted by Hoodox, an Indiana nonprofit aimed at uplifting Hoosier documentarians and hosting a space for their work.
Malakai Tyne Bisel, Derek Hockemeyer and Victoria Britton won the award for their short film “Bloom,” which follows a Fort Wayne man, Alex Babich, in his quest to grow the nation’s tallest sunflower. All Fort Wayne natives, the trio initially thought the film would be a light exploration of a local curiosity. However, they found something much deeper than they anticipated.
“We realized that his attempts to balance obsession with his time with his family and his partner and his responsibilities was a lot more interesting,” Bisel said.
Britton described Babich as a self-made man and entrepreneur.
“And as filmmakers, independent filmmakers, we can definitely respect that as well,” Britton added.
The filmmakers will use the $10,000 award to improve technical aspects of the film, as well as delving deeper into Babich’s life and family.
“What this film has done is reminded me that filmmaking is not a given. It's something that you get to do. It's a privilege, it's a passion,” Hockemeyer said. “And I think being able to work on this project now with PitchDox’s support, just being able to pursue that, is going to be amazing. And I'm so excited.”
The festival will continue until Oct. 20 with daily screenings across Indianapolis. Many films are available to stream virtually for $15 each, which will be available until the end of the festival. Tickets cost $12 each for in-person screenings. A final awards presentation will be hosted on Oct. 19 at The Jazz Kitchen.
