Heartland Truly Moving Pictures Blog

This post is one in a series of posts highlighting our High School Film Competition winners and official selections. Heartland Institute intern Patrick Mitchell introduces us to each filmmaker and gives a sneak peek of what to expect when these films premiere at the 2011 Heartland Film Festival Friday, October 14.

The title, or lack thereof I should say, of Chad Werner’s winning selection to the Heartland High School Film Competition, speaks volumes in fact. Chad paints a picture of a world in which all communication is made entirely via technology. Sadly enough, this “alternate” reality is not too far off from how we as a society truly depend on technology to get us through our day. Of course the film acts as more of a social commentary than anything else, but it’s a potent one at that. The lead girl struggles to find her voice amidst a sea of vapid stares and the digital clicking of thumbs against tiny keypads. The intense silence exhibited in the film is ironically deafening. You can literally feel the tension mounting as the film progresses. The climax of which finds the lead girl exhibiting the courage to finally break her silence. A truly powerful film with an even more powerful message.

Chad Werner has a passion for movies and currently attend film school at UT Austin. He enjoys playing the banjo, flying kites, and writing short biographies on himself. “(___)” also won the Texas High School Shorts Jury Award at the 2011 SXSW film festival.

Chad Werner

Soap – Jon Sheets

More so than any other film in our competition, Soap is an integral part of director Jon Sheets’ personal life. The courage exhibited by the main character is paralleled with the courage the filmmaker must muster day to day. As a young man dealing with OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder), Jon knows firsthand the struggles that are inherent with the disease. Soap starts off lighthearted enough, but it’s quickly realized that not all is as it seems. What appears to be an innocent first date is quickly derailed by the main character’s inability to leave the bathroom due to his OCD.  Of course, all the fear and insecurity that mounts is solely in his head. When in reality, his date is none the wiser of his disorder. It’s a fun and quirky short which ironically conveys a serious undertone.

Jon Sheets attended the Porter County Career Center in Valparaiso, Indiana during high school. He now attends Ball State University for Telecommunications but would like to go into the music industry for performance. He has dealt with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, which makes his film “Soap” closer to non-fiction than fiction to him.

Jon Sheets

Red Dog
Grand Prize Award for Best Narrative Feature | Producer: Nelson Woss

It’s night in the Western Australian outback, a dying dog lies in the backroom of the town’s only pub. Slowly, as word spreads, the local community gathers at the pub. Read more about Red Dog.

Red Dog received the $100,000 Grand Prize Award for Best Narrative Feature.
The Grand Prize Award for Best Narrative Feature recognizes the most outstanding narrative feature entry as determined by the judging panel.
See the full schedule for more screening dates and times.

Red Dog sponsored by:

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Crime After Crime
Best Documentary Feature | Director: Yoav Potash

Crime After Crime tells the dramatic story of the legal battle to free Debbie Peagler, an incarcerated survivor of domestic violence. Read more about Crime After Crime.

Crime After Crime received the $25,000 Best Documentary Feature Award.
The Best Documentary Feature Award recognizes the most outstanding documentary feature entry as determined by the judging panel.The Best Documentary Feature Award is made possible by Indy VW Dealers.

See the full schedule for more screening dates and times.

Crime After Crime sponsored by:

__________

Thief
Vision Award for Best Short | Director: Julian Higgins

Thief tells the haunting story of Mehdi, an Iraqi boy who befriends the young Saddam Hussein in 1959. Forty years later, in 2003, the two come face to face a second time and Mehdi must weigh his desire for revenge against his need to make peace with the past. Read more about Thief.

Thief received the $10,000 Vision Award for Best Short Film
The Vision Award for Best Short Film is given to one film each year and is designed to recognize an emerging filmmaker who shows vision in filmmaking. The Vision Award is made possible by KeyBank.

See the full schedule for more screening dates and times.

Award-Winning Shorts Collection sponsored by:

The atmosphere was electric on Thursday night as the 2011 Heartland Film Festival kicked off with the Opening Night Event screening of The Way. This Truly Moving Picture Award winner captivated both afternoon and evening audiences with each screening ending in a standing ovation for writer/director Emilio Estevez, star Martin Sheen and producer David Alexanian. (Check out the Facebook photo album from the evening.)

Each Q&A began with Martin asking if there were any pilgrims who took the journey on the Camino de Santiago. After a show of hands and a “Buen Camino” for all we continued to share questions. Questions ranged from inquiries about working with family to talking about favorite scenes to how roles were cast.

A personal favorite moment was when producer David Alexanian said that Hollywood told him we wouldn’t like this film. The standing ovation and cheers told Hollywood they were wrong.

In the film, Sheen plays Tom, an American doctor who comes to St. Jean Pied de Port, France to collect the remains of his adult son (Estevez), killed in the Pyrenees in a storm while walking the Camino de Santiago. Rather than return home, Tom decides to embark on the historical pilgrimage to honor his son’s desire to finish the journey. The Way is in select theaters currently, and will be hitting Indianapolis on October 21. If you missed it on Opening Night, be sure to catch it next week!

We are so thankful to Emilio, Martin, David and (studio) for joining us in kicking off our 20th Heartland Film Festival with The Way!

Special thanks to our sponsors The Lacy Foundation and LDI, Ltd. for making the amazing evening possible.

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