Egypt’s Oscar entry Happy Birthday, directed by Sarah Goher, has won the Narrative Feature Grand Prize at the 34th Heartland International Film Festival.
This marks the first time that a husband and wife have separately directed films that have won the Narrative Grand Prize, following Mohamed Diab’s win in 2012 with Cairo 678.
Jimmy & The Demons directed by Cindy Meehl won the Documentary Feature Grand Prize. The documentary followed the 79-year-old artist Jimmy Grashow as he poured four years into his magnum opus. Jimmy passed away in September of 2025. Film subject Lesley (Guzzy) Grashow, Jimmy’s widow, accepted the award during the presentation.
The festival’s Opening Night and Closing Night titles both received Audience Choice Awards. Opening Night film, Rental Family, directed by HIKARI won the Narrative Special Presentation Audience Choice Award; and Closing Night film, Nuremberg directed by James Vanderbilt received the Overall Narrative Audience Choice Award. The Overall Documentary Audience Choice Award went to Best Day Ever directed by Ben Knight and Berne Broudy.
“Congratulations to this year’s winners,” said Artistic Director Greg Sorvig. “Honoring such an international slate of powerful stories right here in the Heartland is truly an honor. I would like to thank every single storyteller who has spent the past 11 days with our audiences.”
The Eyes of Ghana directed by Ben Proudfoot, received the $5,000 Jimmy Stewart Legacy Award. This is Ben Proudfoot’s feature film debut after being an alumnus of the Indy Shorts International Film Festival with several short films, including Oscar-winning documentaries The Last Repair Shop and The Queen of Basketball.
The Hoodox Indiana Spotlight Award goes to a film that highlights stories from the Hoosier state or created by filmmakers right here in Indiana. Director Andie Redwine accepted the Hoodox Indiana Spotlight Award along with the Indiana Spotlight Audience Choice Award for the world premiere documentary The Tenderness Tour.
Since 1989, Indianapolis native Richard D. Propes has traveled over 5,000 miles by wheelchair, raising hundreds of thousands of dollars for charities worldwide in his nationally-recognized effort known as the Tenderness Tour. A paraplegic/double amputee with spina bifida, Propes completed the 35th year of the acclaimed event last year. He is the founder and publisher of TheIndependentCritic.com, a member of the Indiana Film Journalists Association and the recipient of numerous honors, including the Sagamore of the Wabash.
The Indiana Film Journalists Association (IFJA) awarded best English language Special Presentation Narrative Feature to Blue Moon directed by Richard Linklater and starring Ethan Hawke.
HIFF hosted the 3rd Annual PitchDox Main Event presented by Hoodox where five local documentary filmmakers presented their project ideas to a live audience for a chance to receive $10,000 to complete their film. The $10,000 Grand Prize went to “Barbara Boyd: On Top of the World,” directed by Manòn Voice. Set in Indianapolis during the upheaval of the civil rights era, this documentary explores the groundbreaking career of Barbara Boyd, who became the first African American woman on-air in Indiana in 1969. This film also won the $2,500 PitchDox Audience Choice Award.
2025 Heartland International Film Festival Award Winners
Grand Prize for Narrative Feature ($20,000 Grand Prize)
“Happy Birthday,” directed by Sarah Goher (Egypt)
Eight-year-old maid Toha goes to great lengths to ensure that her best friend Nelly, the daughter of her wealthy employer, has a successful birthday party in this poignant debut feature exploring classism in modern-day Cairo. Egypt’s official entry for Best International Feature Film at the 98th Academy Awards®.
Grand Prize for Documentary Feature ($20,000 Grand Prize)
“Jimmy & The Demons,” directed by Cindy Meehl (USA)
“Jimmy & The Demons” follows 79-year-old artist Jimmy Grashow as he pours four years into his magnum opus, a towering sculpture of Jesus and demons that is an epic reflection of faith, mortality and his own lifelong fears. A portrait of creative genius, family and a career deserving of celebration.
Jimmy Stewart Legacy Award ($5,000 Cash Prize)
“The Eyes of Ghana,” directed by Ben Proudfoot (USA)
From Oscar®-winning director Ben Proudfoot, “The Eyes of Ghana” is a stunning feature documentary following 93-year-old documentarian Chris Hesse—personal cinematographer to forgotten African icon Kwame Nkrumah—as he races against blindness and time to rescue and repatriate a secret trove of over 1,300 films that captured the birth of African independence in the fifties and sixties. Yet unseen by the public, these films may not only rewrite Ghanaian and African history—but world history itself.
Humor & Humanity Award ($2,000 Cash Prize)
“Tight & Nerdy,” directed by Jeff Nucera & Jonathan Ruane (USA)
This award honors a film that best combines comedy and empathy to inspire filmmakers and audiences through the transformative power of cinema.
“Tight & Nerdy” is a hilarious and unexpectedly moving portrait of the fearless women behind the world’s first (and only) burlesque tribute to “Weird Al” Yankovic.
Richard D. Propes Narrative Social Impact Award ($2,000 Cash Prize)
“Shakti” directed by Nani Sahra Walker (USA & Nepal)
A single mother enrolls her nine-year-old daughter in painting lessons in Kathmandu until her child suddenly catches a mysterious illness. When doctors are unable to pin down a diagnosis, her strong-willed mother turns to a local shaman who reveals shared trauma that leads mother and daughter down a path of redemption.
Richard D. Propes Documentary Social Impact Award ($2,000 Cash Prize)
“Comparsa,” directed by Vickie Curtis & Doug Anderson (Guatemala, USA)
“Comparsa” immerses audiences in the intensity of Ciudad Peronia, Guatemala, where sisters Lesli and Lupe use art to heal deep wounds. They face extreme rates of femicide, and after 41 girls are killed in a State-run facility, they decide to act. They overcome histories of abuse with a joyful festival.
Best Narrative Premiere Award ($2,500 Cash Prize)
“Shakti,” directed by Nani Sahara Walker (USA & Nepal)
A single mother enrolls her nine-year-old daughter in painting lessons in Kathmandu until her child suddenly catches a mysterious illness. When doctors are unable to pin down a diagnosis, her strong-willed mother turns to a local shaman who reveals shared trauma that leads mother and daughter down a path of redemption.
Best Documentary Premiere Award ($2,500 Cash Prize)
“À demain sur la Lune” directed by Thomas Balmès (France)
Amandine is 39 when she is diagnosed with incurable cancer and given just a few months left to live. She is admitted to the palliative care unit of Calais Hospital, in northern France, where she meets an unexpected companion: Peyo, a horse with the unique ability to sense when death is near. With his trainer Hassen, he visits the most fragile patients to soothe them in their final days.
Hoodox Indiana Spotlight Documentary Award ($2,000 Cash Prize)
“The Tenderness Tour,” directed by Andie Redwine (USA)
In his hardest physical challenge to date, the complex, dedicated and irreverent activist Richard Propes fights for the very tour that saved his own life. Can Richard raise a million dollars to offset $155 million in medical debt when he’s never raised more than $20,000?
Overall Narrative Audience Choice Award Winner
“Nuremberg,” directed by James Vanderbilt (USA)
The Allies, led by the unyielding chief prosecutor Robert H. Jackson (Michael Shannon), have the task of ensuring the Nazi regime answers for the unveiled horrors of the Holocaust while a U.S. Army psychiatrist (Rami Malek) is locked in a dramatic psychological duel with former Reichsmarschall Herman Göring (Russell Crowe).
Overall Documentary Audience Choice Award Winner
“Best Day Ever,” directed by Ben Knight and Berne Broudy (USA)
“Best Day Ever” follows the stories of adaptive mountain bikers Greg Durso and Allie Bianchi as they navigate the relentless challenges of their disabilities and embrace the tremendous support, friendship and joy they find in their rural Vermont riding community. Allie and Greg navigate disability and regain independence with humor, attitude, and grit on mountain bike trails that dismantle ableism, build community, and become a blueprint for trails anywhere.
Narrative Special Presentation Audience Choice Award
“Rental Family,” directed by HIKARI (Japan, USA)
Set against modern-day Tokyo, “Rental Family” follows an American actor (Brendan Fraser) who struggles to find purpose until he lands an unusual gig: working for a Japanese “rental family” agency, playing stand-in roles for strangers. As he immerses himself in his clients’ worlds, he begins to form genuine bonds that blur the lines between performance and reality. Confronting the moral complexities of his work, he rediscovers purpose, belonging, and the quiet beauty of human connection.
Documentary Special Presentation Audience Choice Award
“John Candy: I Like Me,” directed by Colin Hanks (USA)
The film explores the life and legacy of the iconic funnyman Candy, who died of a heart attack in 1994 at the age of 43.
Narrative Official Selection Audience Choice Award
“A Simple Machine,” directed by Mark Alan Hoffman (USA)
“A Simple Machine” is a story of self-reliance, the ingenuity of simple tech, and the conflict between individual freedom and consumer culture. It was shot in Portland, Oregon, by the award-winning cinematographer Kevin Fletcher and scored by Mark Orton (“The Holdovers”, “Nebraska”) and stars Richard Blackmon in a breakout lead role.
Documentary Official Selection Audience Choice Award
“Tight & Nerdy,” directed by Jeff Nucera and Jonathan Ruane (USA)
“Tight & Nerdy” is a hilarious and unexpectedly moving portrait of the fearless women behind the world’s first (and only) burlesque tribute to “Weird Al” Yankovic.
Indiana Spotlight Audience Choice Award
“The Tenderness Tour,” directed by Andie Redwine (USA)
In his hardest physical challenge to date, the complex, dedicated, and irreverent activist Richard Propes fights for the very tour that saved his own life. Can Richard raise a million dollars to offset $155 million in medical debt when he’s never raised more than $20,000?
HORROR AUDIENCE CHOICE AWARD
“Queens of the Dead,” directed by Tina Romero (USA)
Drag queens and club kids battle zombies craving brains during a zombie outbreak at their drag show in Brooklyn, putting personal conflicts aside to utilize their distinct abilities against the undead threat.
INDIANA FILM JOURNALISTS ASSOCIATION AWARD
“Blue Moon,” directed by Richard Linklater (USA, Ireland)
On the evening of March 31, 1943, legendary lyricist Lorenz Hart (Ethan Hawke) confronts his shattered self-confidence in Sardi’s bar as his former collaborator Richard Rodgers (Andrew Scott) celebrates the opening night of his ground-breaking hit musical “Oklahoma!”.
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