The Road to the Oscars® Runs Through Indiana

Three films nominated for the 95th Academy Awards® have Indiana connections, and 12 films honored by Heartland Film in 2022 were nominated for 39 awards. 

Media Contacts:
Heartland Film | Jessica Chapman, Director of Marketing jchapman@heartlandfilm.org | 317.750.3902

(January 25, 2023) - The 95th Academy Awards® will take place on Sunday, March 12. A total of 12 films honored by Heartland Film were nominated for 39 awards (listed below). Several Indiana connections made received nominations.  

Indianapolis native Brendan Fraser was nominated for Best Actor for Darren Aronofsky's "The Whale" which played to a sold-out crowd of 500 people at Closing Night of the 2022 Heartland International Film Festival. "The Whale" from A24 has three Oscar® Nominations, and is riding the wave of the "B-renaissance" that started a few years back.

Heartland Film was on the front end of "The Brenaissance," welcoming Brendan to the 2019 Heartland International Film Festival for a special 20th anniversary screening of "The Mummy."

"Three years ago, we witnessed the phenomenon known as 'The Brenaissance' firsthand when we hosted Brendan Fraser at HIFF28, and I have not seen a crowd reaction that passionate in my 10+ year span with HIFF," explained Heartland Film Artistic Director Greg Sorvig. "When our team saw 'The Whale,' we knew that we had just seen Fraser's most powerful performance yet, and this film was meant to close our 31st edition. We knew it was an Oscar-worthy performance and congratulate Brendan on this nomination."

"The Whale" is screening on Friday, March 3, at Heartland Film's Best of Fest Presented by Edward Jones at the Historic Artcraft Theatre at 7 PM. Click here for more details and tickets.

Another A24 film has captured the most Oscar® Nomination in 2023 with a total of 11 nominations. The original soundtrack and score of "Everything Everywhere All At Once" is by Son Lux, whose founder Ryan Lott is an Indiana University Alumni. Son Lux is nominated for Best Song and Best Score. "Everything Everywhere All At Once" also partnered with Heartland Film for a free sold-out screening of 500 people in March of 2022. 

"Everything Everywhere All At Once" is screening on Saturday, March 4, at Heartland Film's Best of Fest Presented by Edward Jones at the Historic Artcraft Theatre at 7:30 PM. Click here for more details and tickets.

"We are thrilled to bring back last year's most wild and original film to the big screen at the Historic Artcraft Theatre," explained Heartland Film Artistic Director Greg Sorvig. "'Everything Everywhere All at Once' harnesses big ideas and powerful performances--congratulations to the Daniels and the entire team on 11 nominations!

"Stranger at the Gate"  is nominated for Best Documentary Short. This film received its Oscar® Qualification at the Indy Shorts International Film Festival in Indianapolis this past July. "Stranger at the Gate" won Oscar® Qualifying Grand Prize and Indiana Spotlight Award. The documentary is about a former Marine with P.T.S.D. who planned to attack Muslims in Indiana—until an unexpected encounter with faith. The filmmaker and subjects are pictured above, accepting their award at Indy Shorts. Malala is an Executive Producer of this short film.

"Stranger at the Gate" was my fourth time at Indy Shorts/Heartland. It's easily one of my favorite festivals, with the best films and really warm people," said Director, Joshua Seftel. This time, it could not have been more perfect to have this Indiana story be recognized with two awards and to qualify for an Oscar on home turf! We are grateful to have launched things at Indy Shorts!" 

​The film is available to watch online here.

On March 3 & 4, Heartland Film and The Historic Artcraft Theatre are hosting the 11th Annual Best of Fest presented by Edward Jones. If you missed it at the Heartland International Film Festival, you now have a second chance to watch four fan-favorite films, including "The Whale" and "Everything Everywhere All At Once." The full schedule and tickets can be found at www.HeartlandFilm.org. 

Below are the Academy Award® Nominated films that Heartland Film honored in 2022. The full list of nominees can be found 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 prizes – 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 nine Oscar®-winning titles. The 32nd Heartland International Film Festival is scheduled for October 5-15, 2023, and the 6th Indy Shorts International Film Festival was held July 18-23, 2023. For more information, visit HeartlandFilm.org.

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