Heartland Film Festival 2010, Indianapolis Indiana Oct 14-23

This was the first time ever that I made an effort to see more than one of two films at a festival but the list of showings was so interesting I decided buy a discount book and see at least ten of them. There were a lot more that I wanted to see but ten I think was about all that I could handle for this year.

It was by design that most of the films carried a theme of spiritual exploration, acts of faith, and circumstances involving death; not as tragedies but as part of existence. The films celebrated the human spirit in overcoming the events in life that would hold us in place and not let us move to, if not a happier place, a place where there are few misgivings about being there.

These are films I would want to have with me if I was stuck in a snow bound cabin in the middle of nowhere because they carried a message of hope and being able to overcome obstacles that confront you. Even death, the audience choice award for drama went to “Ways to Live Forever” for just reasons; I think that could have been the subtitle for all the films that I saw.

In the order seen, click on title for more information:

High School Film Competition Shorts