The festival was founded 16 years ago, its mission statement is, “to recognize and honor filmmakers whose work explores the human journey by artistically expressing hope and respect for the positive values of life.”

Each year, $200,000 dollars in prize money is awarded to student, professional, and independent films. There is also a distribution initiative, a collaboration with the national F.I.L.M. project, and each year a "Truly Moving Picture" award is given to a film that Heartland feels most emphasizes their mission statements regarding positive values of life. However, there is a growing list of films recognized by the Festival as Truly Moving Pictures. You can find the list and an explanation of the criteria HERE.
 

In other words, you know all those times you’ve visited the theaters and walked out wondering when your beloved movie-going experience became the film industry’s trash can? Well, Heartland decided to do something about that. Not by giving the junk any more attention, but by giving the good stuff some more time in the sun.
 

After all, there will always be bad movies, and we hear about them all too often. Reviewers like me tend to make them more prominent with our public complaints. (This is usually because bad movies are more fun to write about than good ones, I'm ashamed to admit.) But Heartland intends to draw publicity to the uplifting films that you may not otherwise hear about or that you may skip over due to their lack of buzz, as well as the more prominent features like, “The Pursuit of Happyness”.
 

That doesn’t mean it’s all sunshine and lollypops. The festival has carried films with intense subject matter, such as the Holocaust, persecution, torture, women’s rights, and much more. So it’s not that the festival treats the idea of uplifting films with kid gloves. In fact, Heartland recently sponsored the advanced screening I attended of, “My Sister’s Keeper”. True, I didn't love that movie, but I love that Heartland is bringing people the opportunity to see films like this.
 

There are also frequent seminars on film available to the public, more often than not with the seminar portion available to attend for free. These are first come, first serve, and they fill up quickly. However, there are also usually networking opportunities available in the form of lunches or dinners that do carry a minor cost.
 

My experience with the Heartland Film Festival over the past few years has taught me that it’s a valuable source for film culture in the mid-west. They often announce and discuss award-winning films long before they’re in the public eye, and I honestly think that they answer a big public outcry for more quality film, not only on the independent front, but also from the big studios.  I highly recommend that you take a look at this unique festival and plan to attend some screenings this year if you can. In the sometimes culture deprived mid-west, they're a very big bright spot.
 

You can find more information about the Heartland Film Festival by visiting http://www.heartlandfilmfestival.org/default.aspx