Editor

Heartland Film, organizer of the 26th annual Heartland Film Festival (Oct. 12-22, 2017), has announced its full lineup of titles slated for its inaugural “Foreign Language Best Picture Contender” sidebar. These 10 titles are the respective country’s official entry for the Best Foreign Language Film category at the 2018 Academy Awards®. Each selection will play once during Heartland’s 11-day celebration of international independent film.

“Each year, Heartland Film Festival proudly showcases a healthy percentage of foreign language films which are much admired, roundly discussed and debated by our audiences,” said International Film Programmer Hannah Fisher. “We present this year – for the first time – a section of films submitted to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for consideration in the category known as 'Best Foreign Language Film.'

“We anticipate this program will grow and evolve in stature, in much the same way that that Heartland Film Festival continues to gain international recognition and prominence. Heartland is thrilled to be among the first North American film festivals to showcase these foreign language contenders,” concluded Fisher.

Set to award more than $100,000 in cash prizes across various categories, the 2017 Heartland Film Festival will bestow a $5,000 cash prize to one of these 10 films, as selected by the Festival’s foreign language contender jury.

Heartland Film Festival “Foreign Language Best Picture Contender” Lineup and Schedule 

• “One Thousand Ropes” (2016)

Country: New Zealand, Director: Tusi Tamales, Distributor: Transmission Films 
Synopsis: When a father reconnects with his estranged teenage daughter, he is given a rare chance to reshape the future of his family in unexpected ways. 
Screening: Sunday, Oct. 15, 2017 – 12:15 p.m. at AMC Castleton Square 14

• “Ayla: The Daughter of War” (2017)

Country: Turkey, Director: Can Ulkay 
Synopsis: The true story of a little orphaned girl and the soldier who fell in love with her. 
Screening: Monday, Oct. 16, 2017 – 12:45 p.m. at AMC Castleton Square 14

• “Saawan” (2017)

Country: Pakistan, Director: Farhan Alam, Distributor: Kalaker Films 
Synopsis: A handicapped nine-year old boy who lives in a valley in the mountains of Balochistan is rejected by his father, intimidated by society, harassed by friends and left alone due to his disability. Strengthened by memories and dreams of the love of his mother, he begins a perilous journey back to his family in the main city. 
Screening: Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2017 – 12:30 p.m. at AMC Castleton Square 14

• “White Sun” (2016)

Country: Nepal, Director: Deepak Rauniyar, Distributor: Kimstim Films 
Synopsis: A former Maoist rebel struggles to reintegrate with his unwelcoming community and move beyond a painful past. 
Screening: Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2017 – 12:45 p.m. at AMC Castleton Square 14

• “Newton” (2017)

Country: India, Director: Amit Masurkar 
Synopsis: A government clerk on election duty in the conflict ridden jungle of Central India tries his best to conduct free and fair voting despite the apathy of security forces and the looming fear of guerrilla attacks by communist rebels. 
Screening: Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2017 – 2:30 p.m. at AMC Showplace Traders Point 12

• “BPM (Beats Per Minute)” (2017)

Country: France, Director: Robin Campillo, Distributor: The Orchard 
Synopsis: In Paris in the early 1990s, a passionate group of activists goes to battle for those stricken with HIV/AIDS, taking on sluggish government agencies and major pharmaceutical companies. 
Screening: Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2017 - 8:15 p.m. at AMC Castleton Square 14

• “Divine Order” (2017)

Country: Switzerland, Director: Petra Volpe, Distributor: Kino Lorber 
Synopsis: A bucolic alpine village becomes a battleground for social change in 1970 Switzerland. 
Screening: Thursday, Oct. 19, 2017 – 3 p.m. at AMC Showplace Traders Point 12

• “Reşeba: The Dark Wind” (2016)

Country: Iraq, Director: Hussein Hassan 
Synopsis: Radical Islamist militants attack a village in Iraq where two young Yazidi prepare for marriage. From that moment onwards their lives are turned into a nightmare. 
Screening: Friday, Oct. 20, 2017 – 10 a.m. at AMC Showplace Traders Point 12

• “Pomegranate Orchard” (2017)

Country: Azerbaijan, Director: Ilgar Najaf, Distributor: Buta Film 
Synopsis: Gabil returns home to the humble family farmstead, surrounded by an orchard of venerable pomegranate trees; since his sudden departure twelve years ago he was never once in contact. However, the deep emotional scars he left behind cannot be erased from one day to the next. 
Screening: Saturday, Oct. 21, 2017 – 3 p.m. at AMC Castleton Square 14

• “Thelma” (2017)

Country: Norway, Director: Joachim Trier, Distributor: The Orchard 
Synopsis: A timid young woman leaves her rural home to study in Oslo. She does not understand her unique ability to manipulate her environment. 
Screening: Saturday, Oct. 21, 2017 - 5:30 p.m. at AMC Showplace Traders Point 12

How to Purchase Tickets 
The complete 2017 Heartland Film Festival lineup, schedule of films and guide book is available at heartlandfilmfestival.org. Regular screening tickets are $12 and can be purchased online, by calling 1-866-HFF-1010, or at the box office during the Heartland Film Festival. Passes and packages are also available for purchase.

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About Heartland Film, Inc. 
Heartland Film is a nonprofit arts organization founded in 1991 with the mission to inspire filmmakers and audiences through the transformative power of film. Heartland Film is a curator and supporter of purposeful filmmaking, honoring a wide variety of cinema and awarding storytellers from all over the world. The films Heartland Film selects and exhibits – whether they inspire and uplift, educate and inform, or have the ability to shift audiences’ perspectives on the world – all have one thing in common: they are entertaining films that do more than just entertain. Every October, the Heartland Film Festival gives its moviegoers access to more than 200 visiting independent filmmakers from all over the world, right in the heart of the Midwest. Heartland Film Festival (Oct. 12-22, 2017) showcases more than 200 independent films over 11 days of red carpet premieres and events, parties and hundreds of film screenings across Indianapolis. The Heartland Film Festival has earned the special designation of being a qualifying festival for the Annual Academy Awards® within the Short Films category. Each year, the Heartland Film Festival awards more than $100,000 in cash prizes and presents its Festival Awards to top-judged submissions. Heartland Film has awarded more than $3 million to support indie filmmakers over the last 25 years. Beyond the Heartland Film Festival, Heartland Film honors theatrically-released films that align with its mission via the Truly Moving Picture Award, inspires the next generation of filmmakers via the Heartland Film Institute, and exhibits films across Indiana all year long via the Heartland Film Roadshow. To learn more, visit heartlandfilm.org.