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Films starring Jesse Eisenberg, Cillian Murphy and Selena Gomez highlight the schedule of the 33rd Heartland International Film Festival.
The Indianapolis festival, scheduled Oct. 10-20, will open with a screening of “A Real Pain,” organizers announced Thursday. The story features Eisenberg and Kieran Culkin portraying cousins who travel through Poland to honor their grandmother. Eisenberg, the “Now You See Me” star who’s married to Bloomington native Anna Strout, wrote and directed “A Real Pain.”
Murphy’s first movie following his Oscar-winning performance in “Oppenheimer” is “Small Things Like These,” which will be screened as Heartland’s centerpiece film on Oct. 16.
The festival’s closing-night attraction is “Emilia Pérez,” a top awards-season contender that features Gomez in its ensemble cast.
“A Real Pain,” “Small Things Like These” and “Emilia Pérez” will be shown at Newfields, one of five Heartland venues. Emagine Noblesville, Kan-Kan Cinema, Landmark Glendale 12 and Living Room Theaters are the other sites.
More than 110 feature films make up the Heartland lineup.
Craig T. Nelson, known for his work in TV sitcom “Coach” and Pixar blockbusters “The Incredibles” and “Incredibles 2,” is scheduled to attend Heartland and receive the event’s Pioneering Spirit: Lifetime Achievement Award. Nelson is the star of “Green and Gold,” a movie that will make its world premiere Oct. 18 as part of Heartland.
The festival’s Pioneering Spirit Award will go to Greg Kwedar, director and co-writer of “Sing Sing.” The acclaimed movie starring Colman Domingo played in theaters this summer and will be shown as an “awards season encore” selection during Heartland.
Tickets and festival passes are available for purchase at heartlandfilmfestival.org. Admission prices range from $12 to $20.
Ten additional noteworthy films scheduled to be presented at Heartland:
- “All We Imagine as Light,” a drama set in India that won Grand Prix honors at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.
- “Armand,” a Norwegian thriller that won the Caméra d’Or award at Cannes.
- “Code The Road,” a documentary based on the first high-speed autonomous car race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
- “Flow,” an animated movie about a cat that will serve as Latvia’s entry for Best International Feature Film at the 2025 Academy Awards.
- “ReEntry,” a sci-fi story featuring “Bones” star Emily Deschanel and “True Blood” actor Sam Trammell. Deschanel is scheduled to attend Heartland.
- “The Seed of a Sacred Fig,” an Iranian story of political unrest honored with a special jury award at Cannes.
- “Sugarcane,” a documentary based on the discovery of unmarked graves on the grounds of an Indigenous residential school overseen by the Catholic Church in Canada.
- “Unstoppable,” a biographical sports drama that includes Jennifer Lopez and Don Cheadle in the cast.
- “The Waiting Game,” a documentary based on ABA players seeking pension compensation from the NBA. Indianapolis-based director Michael Husain made “The Waiting Game.”
- “Will & Harper,” the road documentary featuring Will Ferrell and Harper Steele, a transgender woman who wrote for “Saturday Night Live” from 1995 to 2008. The movie includes scenes shot in Indianapolis.
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