Grant to support the 24th Heartland Film Festival in 2015
National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Chairman Jane Chu announced today that Heartland Film, Inc. is one of 919 nonprofit organizations nationwide to receive an NEA Art Works grant. Heartland Film is recommended for a $20,000 grant to support the 2015 Heartland Film Festival and related activities.
NEA Chairman Jane Chu said, “I’m pleased to be able to share the news of our support through Art Works including the award to Heartland Film. The arts foster value, connection, creativity and innovation for the American people and these recommended grants demonstrate those attributes and affirm that the arts are part of our everyday lives.”
“Today is an exceptional milestone in the 23-year history of Heartland Film,” said Heartland Film President Stuart Lowry. “We have made great strides in both the expansion of our year-round programming and diversity of artistic offerings, and this Art Works grant from the National Endowment of the Arts is a great indicator of what we have become and where we will continue to go. On behalf of Heartland Film and its board of directors, we are extremely thankful for this honor.”
Grant funding will directly support Heartland Film’s flagship event, the Heartland Film Festival. Indiana’s largest and longest-running celebration of independent film, the 24th annual Festival will take place in October of 2015. The Festival has recently broken records in the areas of film submissions, screening attendance and international filmmakers in attendance. Beyond the hundreds of independent filmmakers hosted in Indianapolis, the event has attracted major Hollywood talent, including Robert Downey Jr. and Oscar® winner Geoffrey Rush. Films selected for the 2015 Heartland Film Festival will include narrative and documentary films in both the feature and short formats that meet the organization’s mission to inspire filmmakers and audiences through the transformative power of film. In addition, the Festival will host informal filmmaker gatherings, panel discussions and educational activities.
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 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.
Art Works grants support the creation of art, public engagement with art, lifelong learning in the arts, and enhancement of the livability of communities through the arts. The NEA received 1,474 eligible applications under the Art Works category, requesting more than $75 million in funding. Of those applications, 919 are recommended for grants for a total of $26.6 million.
For a complete listing of projects recommended for Art Works grant support, please visit the NEA website at arts.gov. Follow the conversation about this and other NEA-funded projects on Twitter at #NEAFall2014.
