PRESS RELEASES
Heartland Film Festival Announces Top Winners
October 21, 2006
“Shooting Dogs” Receives $100,000 Grand Prize for Best Dramatic Feature, “The Hip Hop Project” Receives the inaugural $25,000 Award for Best Documentary Feature and “Shade” Receives the $10,000 Vision Award for Best Short Film
Indianapolis, IN – Heartland Film Festival® celebrated and honored some of the world’s brightest and most ambitious filmmakers at the 15th annual Crystal Heart Awards Gala at Conseco Fieldhouse on Saturday. Awards and $200,000 in cash prizes were presented to 17 films. Heartland announced “Shooting Dogs” as the $100,000 Grand Prize Winner for Best Dramatic Feature; “The Hip Hop Project” as the winner of the inaugural $25,000 Award for Best Documentary Feature and “Shade” as the recipient of the $10,000 Vision Award for Best Short Film. |
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Writer David Wolstencroft was on hand to accept the $100,000 Grand Prize for “Shooting Dogs,” and Producer/Director Matt Ruskin along with featured individual Diana ‘Princess’ Lemon received the $25,000 documentary award for “The Hip Hop Project.” “Shade” Producer Hilary Glaholt accepted the $10,000 Vision Award.
Award-winning correspondent Carlos Diaz from “Extra” emceed the formal ceremony and special guests Jon Voight (“Glory Road”), Lee Meriwether (“Love Boat”), Judy Stewart (The Stewart Foundation) and Greg Paul (The Stewart Foundation and President of Castle Rock Entertainment) presented awards. Heartland paid special tribute to Producer Debra Martin Chase (“The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants,” “The Princess Diaries”) with the Saab Pioneering Spirit Award for her creative spirit in filmmaking and for continually supporting Heartland’s mission. Chase has won two Heartland Truly Moving Picture Awards for “The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants” and “The Princess Diaries” and one Crystal Heart Award for “Hank Aaron: Chasing the Dream.” Leslie Bublin, Director of Marketing for Saab Automobile USA was on hand to bestow the honor to Chase.
“Saab is pleased to once again sponsor the Heartland Film Festival, and we congratulate the Festival on the occasion of its 15th anniversary,” said Jerome Ruppert, assistant regional divisional marketing manager for Saab USA.
“Heartland is thrilled to honor its long-time friend, Debra Martin Chase, with the Saab Pioneering Spirit Award,” said Jeffrey L. Sparks, president and CEO of Heartland Film Festival. “We thank Debra for her dedication to making films that enrich lives and for inspiring young filmmakers and Hollywood to follow in her footsteps.”
During the program, Heartland honored 17 dramatic and documentary short and feature-length films. Three student films received Jimmy Stewart Memorial Crystal Heart Awards, and 14 films were honored with Crystal Heart Awards. These films were selected from a record 647 submissions for top artistic and technical merit and for best meeting Heartland's mission.
The filmmakers honored with Jimmy Stewart Memorial Crystal Heart Awards for the best student films included: “Queen of Cactus Cove” – Producer/Director/Writer Anna Christopher; “Sirah” – Director/Writer Cristine Spindler; and “Wednesday” – Producer/Director Joel Nassan.
The filmmakers honored with Crystal Heart Awards included: "The Cross and the Towers" – Directors Andy Erwin and Jon Erwin; "Emily’s Song" – Producer/Director/Writer Frank Kelly; “Forgiving Dr. Mengele” – Producers/Directors Bob Hercules and Cheri Pugh; "The Hip Hop Project" – Producer/Director Matt Ruskin; "I Want to Be a Pilot" – Producer/Director/Writer Diego Quemada-Diez; "Ithuteng {never stop learning}" – Producer Charlie Ebersol, Producer Kip Kroeger and Director Willie Ebersol; "A Man Named Pearl" – Producers/Directors Scott Galloway and Brent Pierson; “Mother of Mine" – Producer Ilkka Matila; "Outlaw Trail" – Producer Adam Abel and Producer/Director Ryan Little; "Secret of the Cave" – Producer/Writer David George, Director/Writer Zach Gray, Producer Ben Mitzelfelt and Producer Mark Thomas; “Shade” – Producer Hilary Glaholt; “Shooting Dogs” – Writer David Wolstencroft; "The Ultimate Gift" – Executive Producer Paul Brooks and Producer Rick Eldridge; and “Window" – Director/Writer Varda Hardy.
Heartland also recognized 13 films selected as 2006 recipients of the Truly Moving Picture Award, including: “Cars,” “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe,” “Everyone’s Hero,” “Flicka,” “Glory Road,” “The Lake House,” “Lassie,” “Nanny McPhee,” “The Queen,” “Saving Shiloh,” “Sophie Scholl – The Final Days,” “Take the Lead” and “Tsotsi.” Actor Jon Voight was on hand to receive the Truly Moving Picture Award for “Glory Road,” and actress Julia Jentsch accepted for “Sophie Scholl – The Final Days.”
Additional celebrities, filmmakers and industry professionals at this year’s Crystal Heart Awards Ceremony included: Charles Cranney, “Fire Creek”; actor Mel England, “Little Big Top”; featured individual Pearl Fryar, “A Man Named Pearl”; featured individual Archie Khambula, “Ithuteng {never stop learning}”; actress Arielle Kebbel, “Outlaw Trail”; actor Ryan Kelley, “Outlaw Trail”; featured individual Eva Mozes Kor, “Forgiving Dr. Mengele”; featured individual Diana ‘Princess’ Lemon, “The Hip Hop Project”; Christina Mauro, “Little Big Top”; actress Lee Meriwether, “The Ultimate Gift”; actor Kevin Novotny, “Secret of the Cave”; Dennis and Seth Packard, “Fire Creek”; Ward Roberts and Jessica Slagle, “Little Big Top”; Rick Stevenson, “Expiration Date”; actor Brent Weber, “Outlaw Trail”; and Jed Wells, “Fire Creek.”
This year Heartland awarded $200,000 in cash prize money to the winning filmmakers, a 50 percent increase from 2005. The grand prize winner received $100,000, and the documentary and Vision award winners received $25,000 and $10,000 respectively. The Jimmy Stewart Memorial and Crystal Heart Award winners shared the remaining $65,000. Filmmakers also received a Crystal Heart Award designed by Mark Aronstam of Aronstam Designer/Fine Jewelers. The $100,000 Grand Prize Award is underwritten by the Max Simon Charitable Foundation and the Vision Award is underwritten by Vision Racing. To date, Heartland has awarded more than $1.6 million in 15 years to support filmmakers in their quest to create Truly Moving Pictures.
Heartland Film Festival, a non-profit organization, was established in 1991 to recognize and honor filmmakers whose work explores the human journey by artistically expressing hope and respect for the positive values of life. Each October, Heartland screens Truly Moving Pictures from around the world and presents cash prizes and Crystal Heart Awards to the Festival’s top entries.
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