Heartland Film Festival 2008

15-40 tells the true story of tennis player Kai Hansen. An unflinching competitor, Kai Hansen is well on his way to winning a spot at the European Championships in Sweden. Under a comfortable Nazi occupation, Kai's world is limited to the court and to the many luxuries that his status affords him. In order for Kai to realize his dream of participating in the European Championships in Sweden, he has to defeat aging tennis great, Erik Bjarnson. But when it is discovered that Erik, might in fact be a Jew, and that a massive deportation of Danish Jews is planned by the Nazis, Kai has to decide whether to risk it all or for his countrymen or remain veiled in a life of pride and privilege. Heartland Content Key: AT (contains Adult Themes not suitable for children) Visit the Box Office to purchase your screening and special event tickets today!

Amal , a multi-layered portrait of contemporary India, follows an auto-rickshaw driver in New Delhi who is content with his small but vital role in the world around him. One day, he drives an eccentric billionaire who, disguised as a vagabond, is searching the streets for the last morsel of humanity--someone he can feel comfortable leaving his fortune to. With one passenger, Amal's life may change forever. Amal serves up a visual feast for audiences. Filmed on location in New Delhi, this modern-day fable asks the important question of what success means to each individual and ultimately reveals that the poorest of men are sometimes, in fact, the richest. Visit the Box Office to purchase your screening and special event tickets today!

A story of regret, of reconciliation, and of hope, AWR explores the complex relationship between a father and son. Combining panoramic cinematography with a picture-in-picture composition, it blends documentary and narrative techniques to present what is best described as a cinematic personal essay. Visit the Box Office to purchase your screening and special event tickets today!

Art Himmel discovered in the twilight of his life that he could sing. Now, this 82-year-old World War II veteran and cancer patient sings three nights each week at karaoke clubs in the city where he lives. In our youth-obsessed world, Himmel is living, singing proof that you're never too old to be as young as you feel. Visit the Box Office to purchase your screening and special event tickets today!

Could you forgive a person who murdered your family? This is the question faced by the subjects of As We Forgive , a documentary about two Rwandan women coming face-to-face with the men who slaughtered their families during the country's 1994 genocide. Viewers meet Rosaria, a genocide widow whose forgiving spirit inspires her sister's murderer, Saveri, to build Rosaria a new house. Will his token of shame convince Rosaria of his change of heart? And will Saveri do whatever it takes to regain her trust? Viewers also journey alongside Chantale, a survivor who confronts her father's killer, John, for the first time in 14 years. Will John pursuade Chantale that he has truly changed? And will Chantale forgive John for murder? Questions like these have no easy answers. The subjects of As We Forgive speak for a nation still reeling from a genocide that exterminated nearly one million Rwandans. Overwhelmed by a backlog of court cases, more than 50,000 perpetrators of the genocide have been released to the communities they helped to destroy. Heartland Content Key: AT (contains Adult Themes, not suitable for children); V (contains scenes of mild Violence) Visit the Box Office to purchase your screening and special event tickets today!

This is a personal story of two courageous young men who lived a nightmare born of hate, yet survived to bear witness to the strength of the human spirit. Martin J. Moore was born and raised in Indianapolis. A graduate of Shortridge High School and DePauw University, Moore received his Master’s degree in education and history from Butler University. For 28 years, he taught at North Central High School . Moore is President of the Moore Foundation, and was instrumental in starting the Moi University/Indiana University AMPATH program in Eldoret, Kenya, now one of the world’s largest programs treating AIDS patients. He is the co-founder of the Barnabas Fund at Central Indiana Community Foundation and co-founder of Youth Philanthropy Initiative of Indiana. Heartland Content Key: AT (Contains Adult Themes, not suitable for children) Heartland Content Key: AT (contains Adult Themes not suitable for children) Visit the Box Office to purchase your screening and special event tickets today!

World Premiere Based on the true story of Lucia (5), Angela (17 and Fabian (15) who took a trip that many Mexican kids are taking every day. A dangerous trip into the desert in the hands of a stranger who promised to take them past the U.S. immigration patrols and across the border to a better life. A story repeated everyday, these kids were lost when they ran away from a gang of thieves. They spent three days trying to find their way out of the Sonoran desert and survived only by drinking their own urine, eventually paying a high price for their attempted trip. A Better Life is a realistic view at what has become a profitable business, through the eyes of three children. Heartland Content Key: AT (contains Adult Themes not suitable for children) Visit the Box Office to purchase your screening and special event tickets today!

Bill, For Short is a short docu-drama about a young man who finds a pair of his late grandfather's shoes and spends a day walking in his footsteps. He walks to the places where his grandfather lived and worked. While lamenting his grandfather's life he comes to realize how society has changed, but takes solace in the fact that family is as important as ever. Visit the Box Office to purchase your screening and special event tickets today!