THE HEARTLAND INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL HAS EXPANDED!

SHORT FILMS SUBMIT HERE (running time of 40 minutes or less)
ACADEMY AWARD QUALIFIER FOR LIVE ACTION & DOCUMENTARY SHORT CATEGORIES

FEATURE FILMS SUBMIT TO HIFF: Submit to Heartland International Film Festival (41 minutes or longer) at https://filmfreeway.com/HeartlandFilmFestival

Nonprofit arts organization Heartland Film, Inc. announced an all-new film festival in support of its annual Heartland International Film Festival (HIFF - Oct. 11-21, 2018). Indy Shorts International Film Fest (Indy Shorts) will exclusively showcase short films (under 40 minutes in length) from July 26-29, 2018, at the Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields. HIFF just wrapped its 26th edition and experienced another year of seismic growth, with records set in the areas of film submissions, filmmaker attendance, and number of films programmed.

All short film categories and prizes associated with the Heartland International Film Festival will move to the annual Indy Shorts event, with all winners slated to play encore screenings at HIFF in the following October. An Academy Award®-qualifying film festival in both the Live Action and Documentary short film categories, HIFF’s Best Narrative Short Film qualification category will move to Indy Shorts. Additonally, starting in 2018, the winner of Indy Shorts' Best Documentary Short Film category will qualify for the 2019 Academy Awards®. The winner of these categories will qualify for Academy Awards without the standard theatrical run, granted it meets all the other requirements needed to qualify. Short films featured at HIFF over the years have gone on to be short-listed, nominated, and winners of Academy Awards®. Most recently, 2016 Official Selection “Sing” won the 2017 Academy Award® for Live Action Short Subject, and 2017 Official Selection "The SIlent Child" won the 2018 Academy Award® for Live Action Short Subject.

“This year our film submission number spiked by more than 1,000 submissions from all around the world,” said Heartland Film President Craig Prater. “The majority of those were short films, and we are thrilled to dedicate an all-new festival to this exciting medium of independent film. There are thousands of film festivals out there, but only a handful of fests dedicated solely to shorts. Heartland Film is dedicated to growing the film community in Indianapolis and beyond and this is an exciting way to expand on what we’ve accomplished over the past 26 years. Expect new, different, and fun!”

The inaugural Indy Shorts event will bestow more than $25,000 in cash prizes across multiple categories. View the full rules and regulations at http://heartlandfilm.org/wp-content/uploads/2018-IndyShorts-RulesRegulations.pdf.

Awards & Prizes

The inaugural Indy Shorts event will bestow more than $25,000 in cash prizes across multiple categories, including:

• Narrative Short ($5,000 Cash Prize)*
Academy Award®-qualified category. Five finalists with four non-winning finalists awarded $500 each.

• Documentary Short ($5,000 Cash Prize)
Academy Award®-qualified category. Five finalists with four non-winning finalists awarded $500 each

• Animated Short ($5,000 Cash Prize)
Five finalists with four non-winning finalists awarded $500 each

• High School Film Competition (HSFC) ($2,000 Cash Prize)
Four category winners awarded $500 each

• Indiana Spotlight Competition ($2,500 Cash Prize)

• Best Student Film Award (no cash prize)

• Student Choice Award (no cash prize)

• Audience Choice Awards in the Narrative, Documentary, Animated, and Indiana Spotlight categories (no cash prizes)

Rules & Terms

Submit to the inaugural, Academy Award-qualifying Indy Shorts International Film Fest, Presented by Heartland Film!

Due to popular demand, Indy Shorts (July 26-29, 2018) is an all-new expansion of the Heartland International Film Festival (Oct. 11-21, 2018) and will exclusively showcase the best in international short films (with a runtime of 40 minutes or less).

Heartland Film is a nonprofit arts organization founded in 1991 with the mission to inspire filmmakers and audiences through the transformative power of film. Since the inaugural Heartland Film Festival (HFF) in 1992, the fest has grown from a 5-day event with less than 20 films to an 11-day celebration featuring more than 213 independent films, 215 visiting filmmakers and 290 film screenings. Continuing this pattern of growth, Indy Shorts will debut in 2018. Heartland Film has built a reputation on its impactful movies, the connections audiences make with visiting filmmakers, the overall hospitality and intimacy of the experience, and bringing big Hollywood names – like Robert Downey Jr., Rob Reiner, Jessica Biel, and Oscar® winner Geoffrey Rush – to the Hoosier state.

The inaugural Indy Shorts International Shorts Fest will take place in Indianapolis from July 26-29, 2018 at the Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields. Filmmakers participating in the Festival attend numerous screenings of their films and other special events designed to allow interaction between filmmakers and audiences. Filmmakers from around the world are invited to submit films; student filmmakers are welcomed in each category as well. Indy Shorts will select and honors films in several categories, with all winners to play encore screenings at the Heartland Film Festival in October:

• Narrative Short ($5,000 Cash Prize)*
Academy Award®-qualified category. Five finalists with four non-winning finalists awarded $500 each.

• Documentary Short ($5,000 Cash Prize)
Five finalists with four non-winning finalists awarded $500 each

• Animated Short ($5,000 Cash Prize)
Five finalists with four non-winning finalists awarded $500 each

• High School Film Competition (HSFC) ($4,000 Total Cash Prize)
Four category winners awarded $500 each

• Indiana Spotlight Competition ($2,500 Cash Prize)

• Best Student Film Award (no cash prize)

• Student Choice Award (no cash prize)

• Audience Choice Awards in the Narrative, Documentary, Animated, and Indiana Spotlight categories (no cash prizes)

Awards & Prizes
Indy Shorts will award more than $25,000 in cash prizes for 2018.
*HFF has earned the special designation of being a qualifying festival for the Annual Academy Awards® within the Short Films category. This means that the winner of the Grand Prize for Best Narrative Short Film will qualify for consideration in the Short Films category of the Annual Academy Awards® without the standard theatrical run, provided the film otherwise complies with the Academy rules.

• Narrative Short ($5,000 Cash Prize)*
Academy Award®-qualified category. Five finalists with four non-winning finalists awarded $500 each.

• Documentary Short ($5,000 Cash Prize)
Five finalists with four non-winning finalists awarded $500 each

• Animated Short ($5,000 Cash Prize)
Five finalists with four non-winning finalists awarded $500 each

• High School Film Competition (HSFC) ($4,000 Total Cash Prize)
Four category winners awarded $500 each

• Indiana Spotlight Competition ($2,500 Cash Prize)

• Best Student Film Award (no cash prize)

• Student Choice Award (no cash prize)

• Audience Choice Awards in the Narrative, Documentary, Animated, and Indiana Spotlight categories (no cash prizes)

INDIANA SPOTLIGHT
We are excited to exhibit short films with ties to the Hoosier state in our Indiana Spotlight Competition. Films in competition for the Indiana Spotlight Award and $2,500 cash prize are films that meet at least two of the following requirements:
- At least one of the filmmakers is a current Indiana resident
- At least one of the filmmakers is an Indiana native
- The majority of the film was shot in Indiana
Rules & Terms

SELECTION PROCESS
Each submitted film goes through an involved judging process, and is screened in its entirety. If films rise through the submission process, they may be seen anywhere from 2-15 times by members of the screening committees, programming staff, and juries.

Films submitted to the Heartland Film Festival are judged on their overall artistic and technical quality. Selected films have a transformative power that impacts audiences by educating, inspiring, challenging or shifting perspectives - ultimately the Heartland Film Festival programs story-driven films that do much more than entertain.

RULES & TERMS
Please visit http://heartlandfilm.org/IndyShorts/submit/ for a full list of 2018 Rules and Regulations

ELIGIBILITY
To be eligible for the Heartland Film Festival, films must comply with the following:
• The film must have been completed on or after January 1, 2017.
• The film must be available for up to 5 screenings during Indy Shorts, July 26-29, 2018.
• There must not be a screening fee attached to the film. Heartland will not pay a screening fee to any film featured in the Festival; there are no exceptions.
• Films that have had a theatrical release, a television broadcast within the United States or a release through an on-demand outlet such as Netflix, Amazon On-Demand or any other outlets that are available in Indiana prior to the Festival dates may not be eligible for competition, but may be considered for “Special Presentation” screenings.
• The film cannot require dual projection (interlock) or separate soundtracks.
Non-English films must be subtitled in English.

RULES FOR SUBMISSION
In addition to the eligibility requirements listed above, filmmakers must comply with the following submission rules to be considered as a Finalist in their respective category:
• The submitting filmmaker must be either the producer or director of the film.
Entries are accepted exclusively through www.FilmFreeway.com.
• A completed official entry on FilmFreeway.com must be digitally signed by the filmmaker.
• Payment of the non-refundable entry fee must accompany the submission.
• Payment can be made by credit card, check or money order payable in US dollars to Heartland Film, Inc. The filmmaker will be responsible for bank fees associated with any check returned to Heartland by the bank as unpaid.
• All items on the materials checklist (below) must be provided by the entry deadline.
• Link to a functional streaming video file (YouTube, Vimeo, etc.) in high definition 720p or 1080p. If the link is password-protected, the password is mandatory. Links may be included in the FilmFreeway cover letter or emailed to submissions@heartlandfilm.org.
• Multiple submissions must be provided as individual submissions.

MATERIALS CHECKLIST
All entries must submit the following information to be considered for Indy Shorts:
• Link to a functional streaming video file (YouTube, Vimeo, etc.) in high definition 720p or 1080p. If the link is password-protected, a working password is mandatory.
• Completed and digitally signed submission on FilmFreeway.com.
• Entry fee.

NOTIFICATION
All filmmakers will be notified by email after that date or before late May, 2018. Heartland Film reserves the right to release basic information about selected films as early as May.

FINALISTS/OFFICIAL SELECTIONS
Based on the category of short film, official selections will be in competition for Grand Prizes across these categories (though they may remain eligible for Best Premiere or Indiana Spotlight prizes):
• Narrative Short Films
• Documentary Short Films
• Animated Short Films
• High School Film Competition

Finalists will all compete for Grand Prizes. All submitted films that meet the below eligibility requirements are considered “in competition” to be selected as a Heartland Film Festival Finalist at the time of submission. In June 2017, Finalists are publicly announced. Only Finalists are eligible for the Grand Prize in each category. Grand Prize winners are announced at the Indy Shorts Awards Party on Saturday, July 28, 2018. Filmmakers must be present to win.

Indiana films meeting eligibility requirements for the Indiana Spotlight competition are eligible for the award in that category.

Other films may be invited to screen at the Festival as a “Special Presentation” or in a “To Be Announced” time slot; these may be eligible for the Audience Choice Award depending on when the films are scheduled.

Full rules and regulations at http://heartlandfilm.org/wp-content/uploads/2018-IndyShorts-RulesRegulations.pdf.