| Best Short
Shade, a fictional story about a young woman with a rare genetic
disorder that forces her to live under the protection of darkness,
captured the $2500 top prize for Best Short. The winning
writer/director, Kimberly Williams-Paisley, is more familiar to
audiences for her work in the "Father of the Bride" films and as Mrs.
Brad Paisley. Paisley himself provided the short film's music. The
powerful film stars Williams-Paisley and Patrick Dempsey. Producer
Hilary Glaholt was on hand to accept the prize.
Best Documentary Feature
This year's final five Crystal Heart winners competing for the top
prize of $25,000 included a powerful film set in South Africa, a more
hopeful 9/11 documentary, a documentary set in the hip hop world, a film
based upon the life of a topiary genius and a film about one woman's
forgiving of what many consider the ultimate evil, the holocaust era
works of Dr. Mengele.
Taking home the top prize this year was "The Hip Hop Project," a
documentary produced by Bruce Willis based upon New York City's Hip
Hop Project. The project, part of the Art Start program, takes young
men and women from the toughest streets of New York City and puts them
in an environment to heal, build bridges, relate, express and gain
experience in the hip hop industry.
Grand Prize- Best Dramatic Feature
With one of the highest monetary awards in the country, the Heartland
Film Festival prizes are highly coveted by all independent filmmakers.
This year's grand prize winner will receive the largest amount ever
awarded at Heartland for a single film, $100,000. This year's winning
film, "Shooting Dogs," is a BBC Production film starring John Hurt and
Hugh Dancy as a priest and teacher in Rwanda when the 1994 genocide
broke out. The film explores human values, courage, faith and the
choices we make during the most trying times in our lives. While
receiving the prize, writer David Wolstencroft announced that the film
had just signed a distribution deal with IFC and will be released under
the name "In Every Human Heart."
Audience Award- Dramatic Feature
"Shooting Dogs" scored a double victory at Heartland this year by
taking home both the coveted Grand Prize and the Audience Award for Best
Dramatic Feature. The victory for "Shooting Dogs" was a bit of a
surprise as audiences had been raving over "Mother of Mine," an entry
from Finland. Yet, "Shooting Dogs" broke attendance records for the
Heartland Film Festival including the record for the highest attendance
at a single screening. The sheer volume appears to have put "Shooting
Dogs" over the top for the Audience Award.
Audience Award- Documentary Feature
"A Man Named Pearl," the feel-good documentary of the Heartland Film
Festival, about a self-taught topiary artist in South Carolina, captured
the Audience Award over heavy favorites "Hip Hop Project," the Best
Documentary Feature winner, and "Forgiving Dr. Mengele," a widely
praised documentary that may have fallen victim to its somewhat abrasive
subject, Eva Mozes Kor, who attended the festival. "A Man Named Pearl"
is a breezy, lightweight documentary in an era when Michael Moore seems
to define the current style of documentary filmmaking. Its heartwarming,
life-affirming subject matter made it perfect for Heartland audiences
and Pearl himself won audiences over as a humble, sweet man whose
goodness will live on long after he is gone.
Audience Award- Short
"I Want to be a Pilot," a short film about a young boy living with
HIV in Africa, captured the Audience Award with its touching,
straightforward approach to documenting one young boy's dreams. With
audiences at Heartland clearly favoring the Africa theme this year, "I
Want to be a Pilot" claimed the Audience Award over critical favorites
"Shade" and the lighter "Smile."
Additional Prizes
Among the films recognized in the past year as "Truly Moving
Pictures," the Heartland way of recognizing those films that especially
promote the Heartland mission of exploring the human journey by
promoting the positive values of respect and hope, the Heartland Film
Festival announced its Top 3 "Truly Moving Pictures" for 2006. The
winners included "Glory Road," "Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The
Witch & The Wardrobe," and "Sophie Scholl: The Final Days."
Producer Debra Martin Chase (The Princess Diaries and Sisterhood of
the Traveling Pants) received the "Pioneering Spirit Award" for her
ongoing efforts to produce films and empower filmmakers who create films
the inspire and empower.
Carlos Diaz, an Indiana native and current host of TV's "Extra," was
on hand as the emcee for the evening. Special guest appearances included
Julia Jentsch, Jon Voight, Lee Meriwether, director Michael Apted and
others.
The Heartland Film Festival continues through October 27th, and
Audience Awards will be announced at closing ceremonies that night. For
more information on remaining screenings for this year's Heartland Film
Festival visit their website at
Heartland Film Festival. Richard Propes
Heartland Reviews
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