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

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(JULY 25) 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. Recent 2022 Emmy nominee Colman Domingo ("Euphoria") was honored with the Pioneering Spirit Award at the event. Domingo’s short films, "New Moon" and "NORTH STAR", won Audience Choice awards in the Animated and Narrative categories, respectively.

"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.  

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. This year's Indy Shorts had a record number of attendees and more than 7,000 short films were streamed (roughly 65,000 minutes of virtual festival viewing). The High School Film Competition Program founded by Robert & Alison Spoonmore sold out virtually with 500 attendees. 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. " 

The full list of Indy Shorts International Film Festival Award Winners can be found below. Heartland Film will host the 31st Heartland International Film Festival in Indianapolis on October 6-16, 2022. More information can be found at www.HeartlandFilm.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)

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)

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), UCLA MFA

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

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

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

High School Film Competition Summer White Lynch Memorial Grand Prize Winner / Documentary Category Winner
$2,000 Cash Prize (Endowed by Gary D. & Marlene Cohen)/ $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 Narrative Category Winner
$500 Cash Prize
"Pho" by Ethan Chu (USA), Orange County School of the Arts, Santa Ana, CA

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

Narrative Audience Choice Award Winner
$250 Cash Prize
"NORTH STAR" by P.J. Palmer (USA)

Documentary Audience Choice Award Winner
$250 Cash Prize
"Bacon 'N' Laces" by Stephen Michael Simon (USA)

Animated Audience Choice Award Winner
$250 Cash Prize
"New Moon" by Jérémie Balais, Jeff LeBars, Raul Domingo, Colman Domingo (USA, France)

Horror Audience Choice Award Winner
$250 Cash Prize
"My Soul to Take" by Laura Vandervoort (Canada)

Comedy Audience Choice Award Winner
$250 Cash Prize
"An Irish Goodbye" by Tom Berkeley, Ross White (Ireland)

Indiana Spotlight Audience Choice Award Winner
$250 Cash Prize
"Daughters" by Jess Berry (USA)

High School Film Competition Audience Choice Award Winner
$250 Cash Prize
"Gone" by Kyle Ward (USA), John Marshall High School, San Antonio, TX

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 was held July 19-24, 2022. For more information, visit www.HeartlandFilm.org.

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