Indy Shorts International Film Festival Announces Academy Award®-Qualifying Winners

Media Contact: Jessica Chapman

Phone: 317.750.3902

*Please note: This press release can be downloaded as a PDF or a Word Document. Download option buttons are available at the end.

(JULY 23) INDIANAPOLIS - The 2022 Indy Shorts International Film Festival (Indy Shorts) presented by Heartland Film announced its award winners and presented more than $30,000 in cash prizes at its Awards Ceremony which took place on Saturday, July 23 at Newfields. The Festival’s three Grand Prize-winning films "Ousmane" (Jorge Camarotti, Canada), "Stranger at the Gate" (Joshua Seftel, USA) and "Black Slide" (Uri Lotan, Israel/UK) will receive Academy Award® qualification in their respective categories and $5,000 in cash prizes. Emmy nominee Colman Domingo ("Euphoria") was honored with the Pioneering Spirit Award at the event. 

"Our commitment to diverse international short stories shines across our three Grand Prize-winning films," said Artistic Director Greg Sorvig. "It is an honor to welcome these filmmakers to Indianapolis and present them with this prestigious honor heading into awards season."

Indy Shorts is one of only 34 festivals in the world to have earned the special designation of being a qualifying festival for the Annual Academy Awards® for all three Short Film categories: Live Action, Documentary, and Animation. The festival lives up to its carnival theme, "The Greatest Shorts on Earth" with a track record of nearly three dozen Academy Award® nominations and nine Oscar® wins by short films featured at Indy Shorts/HIFF.  

A selection of the award winners screened in a program at the Newfields Amphitheater following the screening on Saturday night. All of the 2022 Indy Shorts International Film Festival award winners are available to watch in a virtual program starting at 10 PM EDT on July 23 through 11:59 PM EDT on July 24. Link to Virtual Award Winners Program. 

With more than 3,200 submissions, 150 short films from 25 countries were officially selected for the six-day festival which included 14 World Premieres, 11 US Premieres, 53 Midwest Premieres and 50 Indiana Premieres. More than one hundred filmmakers came to Indianapolis for Q&As following their short films. View festival photos here. 

"The sky is the limit for the Indy Shorts International Film Festival," said Heartland Film President, Michael Ault. "From being featured on MovieMaker Magazine's top 20 Best Short Film Festivals in the World for 2022 to hosting partnership programs with MTV Documentary Films and L.A. Times Short Docs, Indy Shorts continues to be a leader in the short film industry. " 

Indy Shorts continues with in-person and virtual screenings through Sunday, July 24. The Audience Choice Award Winners will be announced on Monday, July 25. The schedule and tickets can be found at www.IndyShorts.org.

Academy Award® Qualified | Live Action Short
"Ousmane" | Directed by by Jorge Camarotti (Canada)

Description | Ousmane, a newly arrived immigrant living in Montreal, faces a challenging situation when he meets an elderly disoriented lady at the end of his workday.

Narrative Short Jury: KD Dávila, Paul Sloop, Raquel Stecher, and Miles Warren 

Academy Award® Qualified | Documentary Short  
"Stranger at the Gate" Directed by Joshua Seftel (USA), The New Yorker

Description | A U.S. Marine plots a terrorist attack on a small-town American mosque, but his plan takes an unexpected turn when he comes face to face with the people he sets out to kill. Indy Shorts is the first festival to Academy Award® qualify the film.

Documentary Short Jury: James Choi, Güzin Kar, Greg Rhem, and Poh Si Teng

Academy Award® Qualified | Animated Short  
"Black Slide" by Uri Lotan (Israel, UK)

Description | Eviah, a young and timid kid on the brink of puberty, and his best friend sneak into the Black Slide, the most terrifying ride in Aqua Fun. There, Eviah will gain insight to prepare him for events about to unfold at home. Indy Shorts is the first festival to Academy Award® qualify the film.

Animated Short Jury:  Kristian Mercado Figueroa, Don Hahn, Juan Medina, and Ewa Smyk

Academy Award® Qualification | Live Action Short
Grand Prize for Narrative Short
$5,000 Cash Prize
"Ousmane" by Jorge Camarotti (Canada)

Academy Award® Qualification | Documentary Short  
Grand Prize for Documentary Short
$5,000 Cash Prize
"Stranger at the Gate" by Joshua Seftel (USA)

Academy Award® Qualification | Animated Short  
Grand Prize for Animated Short
$5,000 Cash Prize
"Black Slide" by by Uri Lotan (Israel, UK)

Indiana Spotlight Award
$1,500 Cash Prize
"Stranger at the Gate" by Joshua Seftel (USA)

Comedy Award
$1,000 Cash Prize
"An Irish Goodbye" by Tom Berkeley, Ross White (Ireland)

Heartland Horror Award
$1,000 Cash Prize
"The Night Watch" by Julien Regnard (France, Belgium)

Jenni Berebitsky Legacy Award
$1,800 Cash Prize
"Long Line of Ladies" by Rayka Zehtabchi, Shaandiin Tome (USA)

Summer White Lynch Memorial Award - High School Film Competition Grand Prize
$2,000 Cash Prize
"A Prayer for My Mother" by Ruben Barrett, Raisa Effress, Sophia Evans, Lauren Fuchs, Katie Hadsock-Longarzo, Ian Kim, Eve Levy, Timothy Lim, Asher Meron, Marion Ochoa, Bella Rahi, Hank Schoen, Olivia Uzielli (USA)

Directorial Debut Award
$1,000 Cash Prize
"Pig" by Jorn Leeuwerink (Netherlands)

Narrative Student Short Award
$1,000 Cash Prize
"El Carrito" by Zahida Pirani (USA)

Documentary Student Short Award
$1,000 Cash Prize
Groundhog Town by David Zucker (USA)

Animated Student Short Award
$1,000 Cash Prize
"Night of the Living Dread" by Ida Melum (UK)

Indiana Spotlight Student Short Award
$1,000 Cash Prize
"Conversation Between Shifts" by Ben Basem (USA)

High School Film Competition Narrative Winner
$500 Cash Prize
"Pho" by Ethan Chu (USA)

High School Film Competition Winner
$500 Cash Prize  
"A Prayer for My Mother" by Ruben Barrett, Raisa Effress, Sophia Evans, Lauren Fuchs, Katie Hadsock-Longarzo, Ian Kim, Eve Levy, Timothy Lim, Asher Meron, Marion Ochoa, Bella Rahi, Hank Schoen, Olivia Uzielli (USA)

High School Film Competition Animated Winner
$500 Cash Prize
"Grizz" by Cameron Staley, Shivnil Lal (USA)

Audience Choice Award Winners
$250 Cash Prize
The 2022 Audience Choice Award Winners in the categories of Narrative, Documentary, Animation, Horror, Indiana Spotlight and High School Film Competition will be announced on Monday, July 25.

Indy Shorts' esteemed juries helped select the Grand Prizes for Narrative, Documentary and Animated Categories. Read the Indy Shorts jury member bios here.

Heartland Film is a nonprofit arts organization that runs the 11-day Heartland International Film Festival in October, the Academy Award®-Qualifying Indy Shorts International Film Festival in July, the Truly Moving Picture Award and other year-round programs. Based in Indianapolis, Indiana, Heartland Film was founded in 1991 with the mission to curate, promote and celebrate thoughtful and engaging films from diverse perspectives. Over the years, Heartland Film has presented $3.5 million in cash prize – the largest total amount awarded by any film festival in North America – presented 200+ studio films with the Truly Moving Picture Award, and showcased more than 2,000 feature and short films, including eight Oscar®-winning titles. The 31st Heartland International Film Festival will take place October 6-16, 2022, and the 5th Indy Shorts International Film Festival will be held July 19-24, 2022. For more information, visit www.HeartlandFilm.org.

###