34th Heartland International Film Festival Announces Winners & Presents $60,000 in Cash Prizes

"Happy Birthday" and "Jimmy & The Demons" win $20,000 Grand Prizes. "Nuremberg" and "Best Day Ever" win Overall Audience Choice Awards. "The Tenderness Tour" wins the Hoodox Indiana Spotlight Award and Audience Award, while "Shakti" and "Tight & Nerdy" also win two awards each. 

Media Contact: Director of Marketing, Jessica Chapman
jchapman@heartlandfilm.org | 317.750.3902

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(October 20, 2025) INDIANAPOLIS - The 34th Heartland International Film Festival (HIFF) presented by Alamo Drafthouse Cinema at The Square ran October 9-19 and showcased more than 100 films, including 19 World/U.S. Premieres, 27 regional premieres, 17 Special Presentations from major distributors and 9 Indiana Spotlight films. The festival's Opening Night and Closing Night titles both played to sold-out crowds and received Audience Choice Awards. Opening Night film, "Rental Family," directed by HIKARI from Searchlight Pictures won the Narrative Special Presentation Audience Choice Award. The Closing Night film, "Nuremberg," directed by James Vanderbilt from Sony Pictures Classics received the Overall Narrative Audience Choice Award. 

The festival presented more than $60,000 in cash prizes to recipients at the Awards Party on Saturday, October 18 at The Jazz Kitchen. "Happy Birthday," directed by Sarah Goher, received the $20,000 Narrative Feature Grand Prize, marking the first time that a husband and wife have separately directed films that have won the Narrative Grand Prize (Mohamed Diab, "Cairo 678" in 2012). It is also Egypt's official entry for Best International Feature Film at the 98th Academy Awards®. "Jimmy & The Demons," directed by Cindy Meehl, won the $20,000 Documentary Feature Grand Prize. This documentary followed the 79-year-old artist Jimmy Grashow as he poured four years into his magnum opus. Jimmy passed away in September of 2025. Film subject Lesley (Guzzy) Grashow, Jimmy's widow, accepted the award during the presentation. 

Audience Choice Award winners were announced on Monday, October 20. James Vanderbilt's "Nuremberg" from Sony Pictures Classics won the Overall Narrative Audience Choice Award, while the Overall Documentary Audience Choice Award went to World Premiere title "Best Day Ever," directed by Ben Knight and Berne Broudy. Among major studio special presentation offerings, "Rental Family" from HIKARI and Searchlight Pictures earned the Narrative Special Presentation Audience Choice Award and "John Candy: I Like Me," directed by Colin Hanks from Prime Video, was voted Documentary Special Presentation Audience Choice Award winner. The Heartland International Film Festival attendees also voted on winners in the categories of Narrative Official Selection, Documentary Official Selection, Indiana Spotlight and Horror. 

"Congratulations to this year's winners," said Artistic Director Greg Sorvig. "Honoring such an international slate of powerful stories right here in the Heartland is truly an honor. I would like to thank every single storyteller who has spent the past 11 days with our audiences."

Heartland Film has the distinct honor of being the only festival in the world sanctioned by the Stewart Family to present an award in honor of classic actor Jimmy Stewart. "The Eyes of Ghana," directed by Ben Proudfoot, received the $5,000 Jimmy Stewart Legacy Award. This is Ben Proudfoot's feature film debut after being an alumnus of the Indy Shorts International Film Festival with several short films, including Oscar®-winning documentaries "The Last Repair Shop" and "The Queen of Basketball."

The Hoodox Indiana Spotlight Award goes to a film that highlights stories from the Hoosier state or created by filmmakers right here in Indiana. Director Andie Redwine accepted the $2,000 Hoodox Indiana Spotlight Award for the world premiere documentary "The Tenderness Tour." The film also went on to take home the Indiana Spotlight Audience Choice Award. Since 1989, Indianapolis native Richard D. Propes has traveled over 5,000 miles by wheelchair, raising hundreds of thousands of dollars for charities worldwide in his nationally-recognized effort known as the Tenderness Tour. A paraplegic/double amputee with spina bifida, Propes completed the 35th year of the acclaimed event last year. He is the founder and publisher of TheIndependentCritic.com, a member of the Indiana Film Journalists Association and the recipient of numerous honors, including the Sagamore of the Wabash.

Propes is also the namesake to two Heartland International Film Festival's social impact awards. "Comparsa," directed by Vickie Curtis & Doug Anderson, received the $2,000 Richard D. Propes Documentary Social Impact Award. "Shakti," directed by Nani Sahra Walker, received received the $2,000 Richard D. Propes Narrative Social Impact Award, as well as the $2,500 Best Narrative Premiere Award.

"Tight & Nerdy" is another title that took home two honors. The documentary is a hilarious and unexpectedly moving portrait of the fearless women behind the world’s first (and only) burlesque tribute to “Weird Al” Yankovic. The film had it's world premiere at HIFF in partnership with the Indy Dance Council who performed a "nerdlesque" routine before the screening. Directors Jeff Nucera and Jonathan Ruane attended the awards ceremony and received the $2,000 Humor & Humanity Award. The film also received the Documentary Official Selection Audience Choice Award.

The Indiana Film Journalists Association (IFJA) announced its winner for best English language Special Presentation Narrative Feature. This year, the IFJA Award went to "Blue Moon," directed by Richard Linklater and starring Ethan Hawke, from Sony Pictures Classics.

Saturday, October 18, HIFF hosted the 3rd Annual PitchDox Main Event presented by Hoodox where five local documentary filmmakers presented their project ideas to a live audience for a chance to receive $10,000 to complete their film. The $10,000 Grand Prize went to "Barbara Boyd: On Top of the World," directed by Manòn Voice. Set in Indianapolis during the upheaval of the civil rights era, this documentary explores the groundbreaking career of Barbara Boyd, who became the first African American woman on-air in Indiana in 1969. This film also won the $2,500 PitchDox Audience Choice Award.

The 2025 Heartland International Film Festival hosted screenings at Alamo Drafthouse Cinema at The Square, Indy Art Center, Living Room Theaters, Kan-Kan Cinema and Newfields. The festival theme, "Connect to What Matters," was inspired by the early days of the World Wide Web and excitement around connecting people and stories from all over the world. Attendees were encouraged to connect to new places, people and perspectives as they browsed through festival films. Festival photos can be viewed here.

In 2023 & 2024, the festival made MovieMaker Magazine's Top 25 Coolest Film Festivals in the World list. Audiences still have time to be a part of the festival. Select award-winning titles will also be available to stream through Sunday, October 26 at HeartlandFilmFestival.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 and other year-round programs. More information about the festivals and programming can be found at HeartlandFilm.org.

Eight-year-old maid Toha goes to great lengths to ensure that her best friend Nelly, the daughter of her wealthy employer, has a successful birthday party in this poignant debut feature exploring classism in modern-day Cairo. Egypt's official entry for Best International Feature Film at the 98th Academy Awards®.

Jury statement: This debut feature is a beautifully crafted film that grips you from the very first frame and leaves you breathless by the end. The sorrow achieved in the final shot lingered with the jury long after the credits rolled. The jury would like to also give special recognition to Doha Ramadan, whose breakout performance as young Toha was truly remarkable, and we look forward to seeing her future work.

"Jimmy & The Demons" follows 79-year-old artist Jimmy Grashow as he pours four years into his magnum opus, a towering sculpture of Jesus and demons that is an epic reflection of faith, mortality and his own lifelong fears. A portrait of creative genius, family and a career deserving of celebration.

Jury statement: As filmmakers ourselves, we were particularly captivated by a story that beautifully illuminates the process of creating art and the profound ways dedication to one’s craft shapes a lifetime. The remarkable skill, relationships and love portrayed in this film felt transcendent and infused with courage, challenges and hope—messages that resonate deeply within our community and inspire all of us to be the best versions of ourselves.

From Oscar®-winning director Ben Proudfoot, "The Eyes of Ghana" is a stunning feature documentary following 93-year-old documentarian Chris Hesse—personal cinematographer to forgotten African icon Kwame Nkrumah—as he races against blindness and time to rescue and repatriate a secret trove of over 1,300 films that captured the birth of African independence in the fifties and sixties. Yet unseen by the public, these films may not only rewrite Ghanaian and African history—but world history itself.

This award honors a film that best combines comedy and empathy to inspire filmmakers and audiences through the transformative power of cinema. 

"Tight & Nerdy" is a hilarious and unexpectedly moving portrait of the fearless women behind the world’s first (and only) burlesque tribute to “Weird Al” Yankovic.

A single mother enrolls her nine-year-old daughter in painting lessons in Kathmandu until her child suddenly catches a mysterious illness. When doctors are unable to pin down a diagnosis, her strong-willed mother turns to a local shaman who reveals shared trauma that leads mother and daughter down a path of redemption.

"Comparsa" immerses audiences in the intensity of Ciudad Peronia, Guatemala, where sisters Lesli and Lupe use art to heal deep wounds. They face extreme rates of femicide, and after 41 girls are killed in a State-run facility, they decide to act. They overcome histories of abuse with a joyful festival.

A single mother enrolls her nine-year-old daughter in painting lessons in Kathmandu until her child suddenly catches a mysterious illness. When doctors are unable to pin down a diagnosis, her strong-willed mother turns to a local shaman who reveals shared trauma that leads mother and daughter down a path of redemption.

Amandine is 39 when she is diagnosed with incurable cancer and given just a few months left to live. She is admitted to the palliative care unit of Calais Hospital, in northern France, where she meets an unexpected companion: Peyo, a horse with the unique ability to sense when death is near. With his trainer Hassen, he visits the most fragile patients to soothe them in their final days.

In his hardest physical challenge to date, the complex, dedicated and irreverent activist Richard Propes fights for the very tour that saved his own life. Can Richard raise a million dollars to offset $155 million in medical debt when he's never raised more than $20,000?

The Allies, led by the unyielding chief prosecutor Robert H. Jackson (Michael Shannon), have the task of ensuring the Nazi regime answers for the unveiled horrors of the Holocaust while a U.S. Army psychiatrist (Rami Malek) is locked in a dramatic psychological duel with former Reichsmarschall Herman Göring (Russell Crowe).

Special presentation of Sony Pictures Classics.

"Best Day Ever" follows the stories of adaptive mountain bikers Greg Durso and Allie Bianchi as they navigate the relentless challenges of their disabilities and embrace the tremendous support, friendship and joy they find in their rural Vermont riding community. Allie and Greg navigate disability and regain independence with humor, attitude, and grit on mountain bike trails that dismantle ableism, build community, and become a blueprint for trails anywhere.

Set against modern-day Tokyo, "Rental Family" follows an American actor (Brendan Fraser) who struggles to find purpose until he lands an unusual gig: working for a Japanese "rental family" agency, playing stand-in roles for strangers. As he immerses himself in his clients’ worlds, he begins to form genuine bonds that blur the lines between performance and reality. Confronting the moral complexities of his work, he rediscovers purpose, belonging, and the quiet beauty of human connection.

Special presentation of Searchlight Pictures.

The film explores the life and legacy of the iconic funnyman Candy, who died of a heart attack in 1994 at the age of 43.

Special presentation of Prime Video.

"A Simple Machine" is a story of self-reliance, the ingenuity of simple tech, and the conflict between individual freedom and consumer culture. It was shot in Portland, Oregon, by the award-winning cinematographer Kevin Fletcher and scored by Mark Orton ("The Holdovers", "Nebraska") and stars Richard Blackmon in a breakout lead role.

"Tight & Nerdy" is a hilarious and unexpectedly moving portrait of the fearless women behind the world’s first (and only) burlesque tribute to “Weird Al” Yankovic.

In his hardest physical challenge to date, the complex, dedicated, and irreverent activist Richard Propes fights for the very tour that saved his own life. Can Richard raise a million dollars to offset $155 million in medical debt when he's never raised more than $20,000?

Drag queens and club kids battle zombies craving brains during a zombie outbreak at their drag show in Brooklyn, putting personal conflicts aside to utilize their distinct abilities against the undead threat.

On the evening of March 31, 1943, legendary lyricist Lorenz Hart (Ethan Hawke) confronts his shattered self-confidence in Sardi’s bar as his former collaborator Richard Rodgers (Andrew Scott) celebrates the opening night of his ground-breaking hit musical “Oklahoma!”.

Special presentation of Sony Pictures Classics.

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. 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 8th Annual Indy Shorts International Film Festival ran July 22-27, 2025 and the 34th Heartland International Film Festival ran October 9-19, 2025. For more information, www.HeartlandFilm.org.

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