Heartland Film's Signature Fundraiser, Cinemania Presented by F.A. Wilhelm Construction Co., returns celebrating Dance Films of the '80s

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

(November 1, 2024) - Heartland Film's signature fundraising event, Cinemania presented by F.A. Wilhelm Construction Co. returns for a second year on Friday, April 11 at The Crane Bay Event Center. Last year's inaugural event was sold out with the theme "A Tribute to The Beatles in Film" (Click to view recap video). The 2025 theme is "A Tribute to Dance Films of the '80s, and is inspired by classic films like "Flashdance," "Purple Rain," "Fame," "Dirty Dancing," "Footloose" and "Xanadu." Attendees are encouraged to come out in eclectic '80s chic and get ready to cut loose with radical drinks, legit food, electric entertainment and bitchin' activations! 

View all of the 2024 Cinemania photos here.

F.A. Wilhelm Construction Co. is back as the Marquee Sponsor for Cinemania 2025. Sponsorships are available at $5K, $10K and $25K levels and include benefits ranging from name and logo recognition to private studios. Sponsorship details can be found here. Individual tickets ($300) and Party Packs of 12 tickets ($250/each) are available for purchase at CinemaniaIndy.org.

Cinemania 2025 has two dynamic couples leading the charge. Heartland Films is proud to announce that Mike and Kyra Epps are the Honorary Co-Chairs alongside Brian and Gigi Wilkes. Mike Epps is a famous stand-up comedian and actor. Kyra Epps is an award-winning TV Producer, and together they have an HGTV show called Buying Back the Block. Brian Wilkes has been the Chief Meteorologist at Fox59 since 1995, and last year, he was the Cinemania Red Carpet host. Brian and Gigi were the life of the party at the first Cinemania and are thrilled to return as the Honorary Co-Chairs.

The Cinemania Committee is lead by Committee Chair Vicki Bohlsen. The Cinemania Committee includes Kelly Alexiou, Charla Booth, Terry Bowdell, Beth Breymier, Denise Cook, Leslie Donchetz, Michael Durr, Lynda Goeke, Cori Korn, Fred Lockett, Katie Lory, Amy Pauszek, Lisa Sarbach, Ben Shine and Neelu Sondhi.

Since 1991, Heartland Film's mission has been to curate, promote and celebrate thoughtful and engaging films from diverse perspectives. Cinemania supports the non-profit arts organization's film festivals, community events and education program. Through sponsors, donations, ticket sales and event activations, Heartland Film brought in roughly $250,000 from this event in 2024. You can learn more about Heartland Film and Cinemania at HeartlandFilm.org.

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, 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 10 Oscar®-winning short film titles. MovieMaker Magazine named both the Indy Shorts and Heartland International Film Festival on the top 25 Coolest Film Festivals in the World list for 2023 and 2024. The 7th Annual Indy Shorts International Film Festival ran July 23-28, 2024 and the 33rd Heartland International Film Festival took place from October 10-20, 2024. For more information, visit www.HeartlandFilm.org.

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