"Siddharth" wins Heartland grand prize

The 23rd annual Heartland Film Festival (Oct. 16-25, 2014) has announced its Grand Prize Award Winners at its Awards Ceremony at Old National Centre. The event was presented by The David and Betty Klapper Family Foundation.

This year, the Heartland Film Festival gives its moviegoers access to more than 140 visiting independent filmmakers from all over the world, right in the heart of the Midwest. Heartland showcases 135 entertaining movies that do more than just entertain over 10 days of red carpet premieres and events, parties and hundreds of film screenings across Indianapolis.

“It is extraordinary to see filmmakers return to the Heartland Film Festival, especially with such strong films,” said Tim Irwin, Heartland Film’s artistic director. ” This year it’s exciting to have Richie Mehta, director of ‘Siddharth,' back after he had his first feature film here in 2008. Thomas Balmès has previously received the Truly Moving Picture Award for ‘Babies’ in 2010, and his film ‘Happiness’ is another fantastic cinematic achievement.”

The Heartland Film Festival 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 ("Record," directed by David Lyons) 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.

Winners and nominees include:

$45,000 Grand Prize for Best Narrative Feature

WINNER: “Siddharth,” directed by Richie Mehta (India, Canada) “Cicada,” directed by Dean Yamada (Japan) “Drunktown’s Finest,” directed by Sydney Freeland (USA) “The Referee,” directed by Paolo Zucca (Italy, Argentina) “Uzumasa Limelight,” directed by Ken Ochiai (Japan)

$45,000 Grand Prize for Best Documentary Feature

WINNER: “Happiness,” directed by Thomas Balmès “Gabor,” directed by Sebastián Alfie (Spain) “Light Fly, Fly High,” directed by Beathe Hofseth, Susann Østigaard (Norway) “Marmato,” directed by Mark Grieco (Columbia, USA) “We Are the Giant,” directed by Greg Barker (Bahrain, Lybia, Syria, USA)

$5,000 Grand Prize for Best Narrative Short Underwritten by Heartland Film Endowment’s Sparks Vision Award

WINNER: “Record,” directed by David Lyons (Australia) “Grand Canal,” directed by Johnny Ma (China) “Houses with Small Windows,” directed by Bülent Öztürk (Belgium) “Keys of Heaven,” directed by Hamy Ramezan (Finland) “Yearbook,” directed by Bernardo Britto (USA)

$5,000 Grand Prize for Best Documentary Short Underwritten by Heartland Film Endowment’s Sparks Vision Award

WINNER: “Showfolk,” directed by Ned McNeilage (USA) “German Shepherd,” directed by Nils Bergendal (Sweden) “Our Curse,” directed by Tomasz Śliwiński (Poland) “Ghosts on the Mountain,” directed by Jared Jakins, Carly Jakins (USA) “White Earth,” directed by J. Christian Jensen (USA)

$2,000 prizes for the Jimmy Stewart Memorial Crystal Heart Awards

“Grand Canal,” directed by Johnny Ma (China) “Our Curse,” directed by Tomasz Śliwiński (Poland)

$2,500 Grand Prize Winner of the High School Film Competition

“Chris,” directed by Zachary Oschin (USA)

Visit www.heartlandfilmfestival.org for the full film lineup, schedule and tickets.