On Friday, the Heartland Film Festival announced the lineup and schedule for 2014. Now in its 23rd year, Heartland will run Oct. 16-25 and will feature more than 130 independent films as well as red carpet premieres, parties and panels with filmmakers and industry experts.
This world-class film festival will kick things off early on Saturday, October 4, with an exclusive event screening of “The Judge,” a courtroom family drama starring Robert Downey Jr. (“Iron Man“) and Oscar winner Robert Duvall (“Tender Mercies“). The screening will take place at 7 p.m. at AMC Castleton 14 and afterwards director David Dobkin (“Wedding Crashers“) will be on hand for a question-and-answer session with the audience. The evening will begin with a pre-party at Cafe Patachou at 5 p.m. at Keystone at the Crossing. Tickets for this exclusive event package (pre-party, screening, Q&A) are $40 and are available through the Heartland Film Festival website.
Opening Night this year will be held at “The Toby” theatre on Thursday, October 16, at the Indianapolis Museum of Art with a 7 p.m. screening of “Men, Women & Children,” the new film by director Jason Reitman (“Up in the Air,” “Juno”). “Men, Women & Children” stars an ensemble cast that includes Kaitlyn Dever (“The Spectacular Now“), Ansel Elgort (“The Fault in Our Stars“), Jennifer Garner (“Dallas Buyers Club“), Dean Norris (“Breaking Bad“), and Adam Sandler (“Punch Drunk Love“). The film follows a group of teenagers and their parents and focuses on how technology and social media has changed their lives and relationships.
“Men, Women & Children” tackles social issues such as online gaming culture, body image issues, infidelity, celebrity seeking, sexting and pornography. Following the film, there will be a panel discussion where experts and filmmakers will discuss these issues in depth. An after party with light hors d’oeuvres and live music by Tonos Triad will take place at the Deer Zink Pavillion following the panel discussion. Opening Night ticket packages start at $40 and may be purchased through the Heartland Film Festival website.
Heartland Film Festival 2014 will also come to a close on at “The Toby” at 7 p.m. on Saturday, October 25 with a red carpet screening of “Walter,” a film directed by Anna Mastro that stars William H. Macy (“Fargo”), Virginia Madsen (“Sideways“), Neve Campbell (“Scream”), and Andrew J. West (“The Walking Dead“). “Walter” is the story of a ticket-taker at a local cinema who believes he is the son of God and that he must decide the eternal fate of everyone with whom he comes into contact.
Some scenes for the film were filmed in Indianapolis, including in the Fountain Square area. Following the film will be the Closing Night afterparty held at the Jazz Kitchen in Broad Ripple (21 and over only) with light hors d’oeuvres and live music by Sarah Scharbrough. Closing Night ticket packages start at $40 and may be purchased through the Heartland Film Festival website.
In all, over 130 films will be shown over 10 days competing for $115,000 in cash prizes. A list of the top contenders for Grand Prizes can be found in Heartland’s lineup announcement. In addition, the Indiana Spotlight program, sponsored by the Indiana Media Production Alliance, will showcase three projects by Indiana filmmakers. The films include “The Healing Wall,” “Three Months” and “We’ll Be All Right.”