PAST FESTIVALS
Where We've Been
Click on any of the links below to visit the Festival site from a particular year. Look at how much we've changed!
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2007 - Dramatically Different Grand Prize Winnners: Bella (Dramatic Feature), Hear and Now (Documentary), Validation (Short) |
In 2007, Heartland celebrated sixteen years of movies with a theme that emphasized what sets this festival apart from all the others. Booked ended by August Rush and The Kite Runner, a record number of people turned out to see movies that would go on to play in theaters and even be nominated for Oscars! Filmmakers Bobby Bailey, Laren Poole and Jason Russell were honored with the Pioneering Spirit Award for the spotlight they've put on child soldiers through their film Invisible Children, and audiences chose Man In the Chair, Hear and Now and Validation as their favorites. Actor Haley Joel Osment attended the Crystal Heart Awards Gala, hosted by Indiana's own Carlos Diaz.
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2006 - Fifteen years of Passion. Fifteen years of Popcorn. Grand Prize Winnners: Shooting Dogs (Dramatic Feature), The Hip Hop Project (Documentary), Shade (Short) |
The 2006 Festival opened with Amazing Grace and closed with The Queen; director Michael Apted and costume designer Consolata Boyle attended each event, respectively. Producer Debra Martin Chase was honored with the Saab Pioneering Spirit Award at the Crystal Heart Awards Galal; actors Jon Voight, Lee Merriwether and Julia Jentsch were also in attendance. Audience Choice Award winners were Shooting Dogs (Dramatic Feature), A Man Named Pearl (Documentary) and I Want To Be A Pilot (Short)
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2005 - Truly Moving Pictures have their own special effects. Grand Prize Winners: End of the Spear (Dramatic Feature), A Kiss on The Nose (Short) |
In 2005, the celebration kicked off with a screening of Dreamer: Inspired by a True Story, with star Dakota Fanning in attendance. Also featured was a special screening of the documentary The Bituminous Coal Queens of Pennsylvania and a day-long Education Seminar with guest Ken Kwapis. Duma, the story of the friendship between a boy and a cheetah, closed the Festival on October 21. Producers Mike Tollin and Brian Robbins received the Saab Pioneering Spirit Award at the Crystal Heart Awards Gala. In its innaugural year, Audience Choice Award winners were Innocent Voices (Dramatic Feature), Earthling (Documentary) and The Man Who Walked Between the Towers (Short).
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2004 - See life differently. Grand Prize Winner: Love's Brother (Dramatic Feature) |
Heartland Film Festival in 2004 began with a screening of Because of Winn-Dixie, the charming tale of a girl who finds a best friend in the mutt no one else wants. Other events included a Kids' Movie Party featuring Sing-Along Mary Poppins and the annual Crystal Heart Awards Gala. The festivities wrapped with Finding Neverland, the whimsical tale of J.M. Barrie, the man who wrote Peter Pan.
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2003 - What moves you? Grand Prize Winner: Saints and Soldiers (Dramatic Feature) |
Chair of Walt Disney Studios and friend of Heartland Dick Cook attended the 2003 Heartland Film Festival and was recognized for his support of the Festival with the Saab Pioneering Spirit Award.
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2002 - Truly Moving Pictures Grand Prize Winner: To End All Wars (Dramatic Feature) |
Heartland Film Festival kicked off in 2002 with the story of a professor who inspires his students to greatness in The Emporer's Club. The film's director, Michael Hoffman, attended the event.