‘Heartland International Film Festival’ Preview

By James Lindorf

For Indianapolis residents, visitors, and film fanatics worldwide, it is time for the Heartland International Film Festival (HIFF)! For their 30th anniversary, the Heartland International Film Festival is serving up some big names among its 143 films. All 143 movies at this year’s festival have in-person screenings (indoor and outdoor), and many, but not all, films will also be available to watch virtually. This year’s event will be live from October 7-17, across Indianapolis, with some movies featuring increased availability virtually. With the event set to kick off later this week, now is the time to purchase your tickets here.

This year HIFF features an unprecedented 14 event films that will only be available in person. These are 14 movies that you should expect to hear a lot more about as awards season draws closer. These special events begin opening night with “Julia” directors Julie Cohen and Betsy West’s expose on legendary cookbook author and television superstar Julia Child. And the hits keep on coming until closing night with “The Electrical Life of Louis Wain,” the dramatic new film about the English artist starring Benedict Cumberbatch and directed by Will Sharpe. Between those two bookends, there are several great movies to be seen.

Bergman Island

Continuing its festival run after being the talk of the town at the Toronto International Film Festival is Mia Hansen-Løve’s “Bergman Island.” A couple of American filmmakers, Chris (Vicky Krieps) and Tony (Tim Roth), have retreated to the mythical Fårö island for the summer. In this wild, breathtaking landscape where Ingmar Bergman lived and shot his most celebrated pieces, they hope to find inspiration for their upcoming films. As days spent separately pass by, the fascination for the island operates on Chris, and souvenirs of her first love resurface. Lines between reality and fiction will then progressively blur and tear our couple even more apart.

Belfast

Focus Features presents Kenneth Branagh’s “Belfast.” Written and directed by Academy Award® nominee Branagh, “Belfast” is the humorous, tender, and intensely personal story of one boy’s childhood during the tumult of the late 1960s in the city of Branagh’s birth. “Belfast” is a movie straight from Branagh’s own experience. A nine-year-old boy must chart a path towards adulthood through a world that has suddenly turned upside down. His stable and loving community and everything he thought he understood about life is changed forever. Still, joy, laughter, music, and the formative magic of the movies remain. The cast stars Golden Globe nominee Caitríona Balfe, Academy Award® winner Judi Dench, Jamie Dornan, Ciarán Hinds, and introduces the ten-year-old Jude Hill. Dornan and Balfe play a passionate working-class couple caught up in the mayhem, with Dench and Hinds as the quick-witted grandparents. The film was produced by Branagh, Laura Berwick, Becca Kovacik, and Tamar Thomas.

Humans

The latest A24 release is set inside a pre-war duplex in downtown Manhattan, “The Humans” follows the course of an evening in which the Blake family gathers to celebrate Thanksgiving. As darkness falls outside the crumbling building, mysterious things start to go bump in the night and family tensions reach a boiling point. Based on Stephen Karam’s one-act play, this film adaptation marks his directorial debut. It features an all-star cast of Beanie Feldstein, Jayne Houdyshell, Richard Jenkins, Amy Schumer, June Squibb, and Steven Yeun.

Jagged

Netflix and HBO are perhaps the top two companies to turn to for a quality documentary. HBO hopes to hit it big again while giving you everything you want. 1995 was the year of Alanis Morissette. Her groundbreaking album Jagged Little Pill delivered a rawness and emotional honesty that resonated with millions. “Jagged” explores how Alanis came to be that empowered woman so many admire and what happens when a 21-year-old becomes a worldwide phenomenon.

King Richard

The former king of the summer blockbuster continues his hunt for a golden statue, and this looks to be his best shot yet. Armed with a clear vision and a bold 78-page plan, Richard Williams is determined to write his daughters, Venus and Serena, into history. Training on Compton, California’s abandoned tennis courts – rain or shine – the girls are shaped by their father’s unyielding commitment and helped along by their mother’s balanced perspective and keen intuition, defying the seemingly insurmountable odds and prevailing expectations laid before them. Based on the true story that will inspire the world, “King Richard” follows the journey of a family whose unwavering resolve and unconditional belief ultimately delivered two sports legends.

The 30th year of the Heartland International Film Festival promises to be a special one, and you can learn more by following their social media accounts at @heartlandfilm