Heartland hub: Indie film festival returns to Artcraft Theatre

This week, Johnson County moviegoers have the chance to plunge deep into the frigid Antarctic landscape with a famed polar explorer.

They can go on a heartpounding journey through the life of an infamous smuggler of Pez dispensers in the early 1990s, or hear the true story of the young Midwesterner who helped overturn New York City’s 35-year ban on pinball machines. A documentary on the special meanings of mundane objects speaks to the way people preserve memories, conjure experiences and find meaning in life.

Find healing in the story of a leader of a white nationalist hate group gaining new perspective from the people he once hated — a Muslim heart doctor and his town of refugees.

The Heartland International Film Festival has returned once again this year, bringing the best feature films, documentaries and other genres to big screens throughout central Indiana. And once again, the festival will make a stop at the Historic Artcraft Theatre, one of its favorite venues.

With six films ranging from heartfelt documentaries to rollicking features to quirky shorts, Heartland organizers hope to bring a touch of whimsy and deep-seated emotion to audiences in Johnson County.

“It’s a variety ranging from heartwarming and endearing to really powerful and moving and thought-provoking. It’s a good mix of films that we think audiences will engage with most, and leave with something,” Ricci said.

The Heartland International Film Festival has been bringing the best in uplifting, thought-provoking film to central Indiana for the past three decades.

Founded in 1991, the idea for the film festival came from Indianapolis-area filmmakers who wanted to showcase more life-affirming art around the city. The team at Heartland Film envisioned a balance to the glamorous and sometimes soulless movie culture that is so abundant on the East and West coasts.

Over the first 20 years, the festival grew slowly. But since 2011, its reputation and prestige have skyrocketed. 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. More than 1,800 feature and short films have been showcased at the event, including seven Oscar-winning titles.

“We bring films from all over, films that people normally wouldn’t see otherwise, here to central Indiana,” Ricci said. “It’s a connector for filmmakers and audiences, and we focus on that filmmaker-audience connection.”

This year’s festival showcases more than 115 feature films, including 11 world premieres, three U.S. premieres, 17 special presentations from major distributors and 11 Indiana Spotlight films — made by or about Hoosiers.

“People can expect to see independent films from all over the world, films that are impactful, inspiring, thought-provoking, engaging,” Ricci said. “We’re really excited about this year’s lineup — some really strong films across the board.”

The festival, which runs through Oct. 16, opened with an awards season favorite with Indiana connections. Director Sacha Jenkins’ “Louis Armstrong’s Black & Blues,” from Apple Original Films, focused on Armstrong, the famed musician whose recording career began in Indiana back in 1923 when he traveled with King Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band to Richmond’s Starr-Gennett Studio to record a 78rpm record of “Froggie Moore”/”Chimes Blues.”

Another film gaining significant award buzz will close out the festival on Oct. 16. A special screening of “The Whale” from A24 and Darren Aronofsky, based on the play by Samuel D. Hunter, stars Indianapolis native Brendan Fraser. The film tells the story of a reclusive English teacher living with severe obesity who attempts to reconnect with his estranged teenage daughter for one last chance at redemption.

Other highlight films include “The Lost King,” starring Academy Award nominee Sally Hawkins, about an amateur historian defies the stodgy academic establishment in her efforts to find King Richard III’s remains, which were lost for over 500 years.

“Empire of Light,” by director Sam Mendes, stars Academy Award winners Olivia Colman and Colin Firth. “My Policeman,” a story of forbidden romance and changing social conventions, stars Harry Styles, Emma Corrin and others.

To showcase such a diverse group of films, organizers have tapped a variety of theaters and venues to stage the film festival. Moviegoers can see films at Newfields, Living Room Theaters, The Kan-Kan Cinema & Brasserie, Landmark Glendale 12 and an outdoor picnic-style screening at the Indianapolis Arts Center.

At the same time, the festival is scheduled to bring a slate of films back to the Artcraft Theatre, carrying on what has become a long-standing relationship.

The Artcraft has been teaming up with Heartland Film for the past eight years to host Best of the Fest, a showcase of films from the precious year’s film festival. Since they started that program, the Artcraft has been one of the organization’s favorite stops, Sorvig said. The event has also become one of the popular events on the Franklin theater’s yearly schedule.

The success of Best of the Fest led to the Artcraft being chosen to host screenings of the Heartland International Film Festival starting in 2019. At the time, it was the first southside venue chosen for the festival in 10 years, since the Greenwood Park 14 theater was an official venue.

“We love coming to the Artcraft. The audiences are really enthusiastic and supportive, and we’ve gotten a lot of great feedback over the years,” Ricci said. “It’s a really fun moviegoing experience.”

The lineup featured at the Artcraft offers a wide range of films, with a variety of different subjects and styles.

“After Antarctica” follows legendary polar explorer Will Stegerʼs lifelong journey as an eyewitness to the greatest changes to the polar regions of our planet. “The Pez Outlaw” tells the story of Steve Glew, who spent 10 years smuggling Pez dispensers into the United States from Eastern Europe, making millions of dollars until his arch-nemesis, the Pezident, decided to destroy him.

“Pinball: The Man Who Saved the Game” focuses on Roger Sharpe, the young Midwesterner who overturned New York City’s 35-year-old ban on pinball machines. The screening of the film, scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Oct. 12, will feature an appearance by the filmmakers as well as Sharpe.

“We looked at what people liked in the past that we’ve brought down, and what tends to do well. The audiences have been great in Franklin in the past, so we want to show a wide variety of films,” Ricci said.

For the first time this year, the Artcraft will also be hosting a showing of the best short films from this year’s Indy Shorts International Film Festival.

“Indy Shorts, we usually don’t bring down to Franklin, so we’re excited to bring the program of some of the winners, including all three grand prize winners,” Ricci said.

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