20 Films Showcased by Heartland Film Receive 44 Oscar® Nominations

Indy Shorts Film Festival's 2025 Oscar®-qualified Grand Prize Winner "The Singers" is among the record nine short films showcased at Heartland Film's 2025 festivals that received an Academy Award® nomination.

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

(January 22, 2026) - The 98th Academy Awards® will take place on Sunday, March 15, and the nominations were announced today. Heartland Film is honored to be one of the first to showcase Oscar®-nominated films through the Heartland Film Festival in October, the Indy Shorts Film Festival in July and as Truly Moving Picture Award recipients. This year, 20 films celebrated by Heartland Film—9 short films and 11 feature films—earned 44 total Academy Award® Nominations. 

“Each year, Heartland Film reviews thousands of submissions across both of our festivals. From that wealth of creativity and talent, we shape programs designed to enrich, challenge and resonate with Hoosier audiences,” said Greg Sorvig. “When those films go on to earn Oscar® nominations, it’s a thrilling reminder of why we do this work. We’re honored to have showcased these remarkable storytellers and couldn’t be more excited for them in yet another record-breaking year. Congratulations to all of the nominees, and here’s to an unforgettable night on March 15!”

With eight short film nominations, the Indy Shorts Film Festival programmed more short film Oscar® nominees than any other festival in the country. Five of these nominees were also award recipients at the Indy Shorts Film Festival. Best Live Action Short nominees "The Singers," "A Friend of Dorothy" and "Jane Austen's Period Drama" were each honored with two awards at the Indy Shorts Film Festival. "The Singers" received their Oscar®-qualifying Narrative Grand Prize Award at the 2025 Indy Shorts Film Festival, as well as the festival's Narrative Audience Choice Award. Best Animated Short nominees "Retirement Plan" and "Forevergreen" also received an award apiece at the Indy Shorts Film Festival. 

Heartland Film Festival audiences had the opportunity to meet the director of the Best Documentary Short Film nominee, "All the Empty Rooms." Joshua Seftel attended the festival and presented three of his short films at a special spotlight screening that included "Stranger at the Gate," which Oscar®-qualified at Indy Shorts in 2023 and was also nominated for Best Documentary Short Film. 

In October, the Heartland Film Festival showcased nine Oscar®-nominated films, including "Sentimental Value," which is up for Best Picture and a total of nine nominations. Three recipients of Heartland Film's Truly Moving Picture Award also received Oscar® nominations, including Best Picture nominee, "Hamnet."

The festival audience shouldn't be surprised to see that the Heartland Film Festival's Centerpiece Screening film, "Train Dreams," has three nominations, including Best Picture. ​

The Academy members also shared similar views as the Indiana Film Journalist Association (IFJA) members. At the 2025 Heartland Film Festival, the IFJA Award was presented to "Blue Moon," which has a nomination for Best Lead Actor and Best Original Screenplay. 

Below are the Academy Award®-nominated films that Heartland Film honored in 2024 and 2025. The full list of nominees can be found here.

Heartland Film is a nonprofit arts organization that runs the 11-day Heartland Film Festival in October, the Academy Award®-Qualifying Indy Shorts 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 Film Festival on the top 25 Coolest Film Festivals in the World list for 2023, 2024 and 2025. The 9th Annual Indy Shorts Film Festival is scheduled for July 21-26, 2026 and the 35th Heartland Film Festival will run October 8-18, 2026. For more information, visit www.HeartlandFilm.org.

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