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Diaz emcees Heartland Film Festival
Greenwood native son Carlos Diaz, now an “Extra!” national television reporter, came to town to emcee the Heartland Film Festival Gala Awards ceremony at Conseco Fieldhouse Saturday, Oct. 18. Returning for his third straight time as emcee, the popular host said, “This is the most fun I have all year. I can’t wait to do this!”
What kind of movies?
The Heartland Gala presents the number one award to the winners in three Crystal Heart Award film categories. Each of the five dramatic feature length films, five documentaries, and seven short films along with their producer or director was introduced by film luminaries. The lively Diaz also briefly interviewed audience members. Always verbally quick, Diaz routinely cracked up the crowd with his quips.
The festival also plays numerous other top selections and a few movie studio releases. This year, the North American premiere of “The Boy in the Striped Pajamas,” based on the John Boyne book set during the Holocaust, opened the festival on Thursday, October 16, at the Murat Theatre in downtown Indianapolis to a packed house.
Why did it start?
In 1991, Indianapolis’ Jeff Sparks and other visionaries thought it was time to encourage and honor inspirational films that reflected the values of the Heartland. Sparks choose the film festival format to honor the filmmakers. Secondly, he wanted to give audiences a chance to view these exceptional films during the weeklong film festival.
This year’s films can be seen in three theaters, the Greenwood AMC being the closest southside location. Theater screenings of the award-winning films ends tonight.
Diaz comes back to Greenwood and Indianapolis because he loves the Heartland Film Festival: “It’s about hope — about meaning.”
Libraries join in
The Greenwood Public Library hosted one of the festival filmmakers also on Oct. 18. Indianapolis native Jerald Harkness, lead a discussion of the story behind his movie “The Game of Change.” That story showed how a Mississippi State basketball team, their coach and the university president had to sneak out of the state during a time of racial injustice in order to play in the 1963 NCAA tournament in Michigan. Harkness’ father, Jerry Harkness, later a pro in the ABA, played on the opposing Loyola team.
The Beech Grove Library had a one day mini-film festival of their own this month using four movies from their DVD collection that had also received the Heartland Truly Moving Picture Award for quality. That coveted award grew out of the Heartland Film Festival when studios began seeking an endorsement for their films prior to release in theaters. Free downloadable curriculum for a select number of these films is geared toward use with youth. Those can be found at www.TrulyMovingPictures.org under FILM Project.
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