Heartland Film Festival

Heartland Film Festival returns to Indianapolis from October 8 to 18, with screenings spread across the city. It's an annual thing that runs every October, and this year it's taking over several venues: Alamo Drafthouse Cinema at The Square, Indy Arts Center, Kan-Kan Cinema, Living Room Theaters, Newfields, and the Scottish Rite Cathedral. The festival is put on by Heartland Film, a nonprofit arts organization based here since 1991 that describes its mission as curating, promoting, and celebrating films that do more than entertain.

The program mixes world premiere screenings with local Hoosier films, filmmaker Q&As, and red carpet events. There are cash prizes on the line too: a $20,000 Grand Prize for Narrative Feature and a $5,000 Jimmy Stewart Legacy Award for Documentary Feature. It's not the only thing Heartland does—they also run the Academy Award-qualifying Indy Shorts Film Festival in July and other programs throughout the year. Alamo Drafthouse Cinema is set to sponsor the festival for the next three years.

If you're looking for a way to see a good chunk of it, there are a few pass options. A VIP Fest Pass is $220, or $176 for members; a Duo Fest Pass is $430, or $344 for members. If you'd rather pick and choose, a Theater 10-Pack is $120, or $96 for members, and a Streaming 10-Pack is $140, or $112 for members. Heartland Film members get an additional 20% off those prices. The festival has a bit of a reputation behind it: it was named the #1 Best Film Festival by the 2026 USA TODAY 10Best Readers' Choice Awards and has been listed as one of the Top 25 Coolest Film Festivals in the World by MovieMaker Magazine from 2023 to 2025.