MovieMaker Magazine announced the 25 Coolest Film Festivals in the World for 2025, including both the Heartland International Film Festival and the Indy Shorts International Film Festival.
Media Contact: Director of Marketing, Jessica Chapman
jchapman@heartlandfilm.org | 317.750.3902
jchapman@heartlandfilm.org | 317.750.3902
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(NOVEMBER 17, 2025) INDIANAPOLIS - MovieMaker Magazine announced its 2025 list of the 25 Coolest Film Festivals in the World. For the third year in a row, both the Indy Shorts International Film Festival and the Heartland International Film Festival were recognized on the list. These two film festivals are presented by Indianapolis-based nonprofit arts organization Heartland Film. View a PDF of the article here.
“Among thousands of festivals worldwide, earning this distinction is a special moment,” said Artistic Director Greg Sorvig. "We always aspired to be on this list, and now to receive this recognition for a third time is truly extraordinary."
Every year, MovieMaker Magazine enlists the help of "secret shoppers" to identify the coolest film festivals in the world. These are the festivals "they would recommend to a friend — places where they felt good and had a blast. Places like that are cool." The 2025 Panel of Cool includes Katie Bignell and Ian Bignell (Festival Formula), as well as filmmakers Heather Brawley, Gianfranco Fernández-Ruiz, Ray Smiling, H. Nelson Tracey, Milana Vayntrub, Linden Zhang and Hannah Knight.
The folks there put so much heart and thought into every detail, from the annual themes that keep the festival feeling fun, to the daily emails the make navigating it a breeze... And of course, the programming itself is top-notch. It always feels like such an honor to be in the company of great films here.”
- Milana Vayntrub, MovieMaker Magazine's Panel of Cool, on the Indy Shorts International Film Festival
Heartland Film was founded in 1991 with the mission to curate, promote and celebrate thoughtful and engaging films. Over the years, the festivals have presented $4 million in cash prizes – the largest total amount awarded by any film festival in North America.
You can read about all 25 festivals included on the list in a PDF of the full MovieMaker Magazine article here.
About Heartland Film, Inc.
Heartland Film is a nonprofit arts organization that runs the 11-day 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 9th Annual Indy Shorts International Film Festival is scheduled for July 21-26, 2026 and the 35th Heartland International Film Festival will run October 8-18, 2026. For more information, visit HeartlandFilm.org.
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