by Marla Lewin These “top ten” films were chosen from the total 22 films that were bestowed with the Heartland Truly Moving Picture Award in 2009. The award was created by Heartland Truly Moving Pictures as a way to honor theatrically released films that meet Heartland’s mission of emphasizing the best of the human spirit.   Honored films, in order of the top selected, are   1.       The Blind Side ...

To better reflect its mission to recognize films with impactful and uplifting messages, the Heartland Film Festival® has created a newly minted parent organization – Heartland Truly Moving PicturesTM. The name change, announced by President and CEO Jeffrey L. Sparks, highlights the organization’s industry award and watermark, the Heartland Truly Moving Picture Award, while at the same time re-defining its commitment to filmmakers, studios and distributors whose projects address challenging ...

The 14th annual Heartland Film Festival® concluded its nine-day run on Friday, October 21 with the announcement of the inaugural Audience Award winners and a sold-out screening of “Duma” with the film’s director and Academy Award® nominee Carroll Ballard (“The Black Stallion,” “Fly Away Home”). The 2005 Festival was a great success and brought another increase in attendance, despite a decrease in box office sales nationwide. An estimated 18,000 celebrated some of the year’s bes...

For the 14th consecutive year, Heartland Film Festival® celebrated and honored some of the world’s brightest and most ambitious filmmakers at the annual Crystal Heart Awards Ceremony at Conseco Fieldhouse on Saturday. Awards and more than $100,000 in cash prizes were presented to a record 24 Truly Moving PicturesSM. Heartland announced “End of the Spear” as the $50,000 grand prize winner for best dramatic feature and presented the award and cash prize to Producer Bill Ewing, Actor Louie L...

14th Annual Fest Offers Nine Days of National & International Film Screenings, Events and Special GuestsFrom October 13-21, 2005 the 14th annual Heartland Film Festival® will again showcase the best Truly Moving Pictures in cinema from around the world. Heartland President Jeffrey L. Sparks announced the winning films and event lineup at the annual Crystal Heart Awards Announcement Celebration on Thursday. A record 23 films were selected as award winners from 558 submissions for best meeting He...