Festival world premiere of Jimmy to open 35th Heartland Film Festival on Oct. 8

Submitted

Heartland Film is honored to announce that the Opening Night film for the 35th Heartland Film Festival will be the Festival World Premiere of Jimmy, the untold true story of Jimmy Stewart starring KJ Apa.

The Heartland Film Festival, presented by Alamo Drafthouse Cinema at The Square, is scheduled to run from Oct. 8 to 18, with screenings at venues around Indianapolis. The Festival World Premiere of Jimmy will take place on Thursday, Oct. 8, at the Scottish Rite Cathedral, 650 N. Meridian St., Indianapolis. Many of the Jimmy film team are scheduled to attend the Festival World Premiere screening, including:

• Director/Producer Aaron Burns
• Actors KJ Apa (Jimmy Stewart), Max Casella (Frank Capra), Kara Killmer (Lady Julia), Marc Malkin (Glenn Miller), Karolyn Grimes (Actress)
• Producer and Casting Director Angela Sullivan
• Producers Jack McClintock & David Cook
• Executive Producer Kelly Stewart Harcourt
• Screenwriter Justin Strawhand

The festival will also partner with the Jimmy Stewart Museum to display original pieces from their collection.

The Heartland Film Festival has a long-standing relationship with The Stewart Family Foundation. Every year, the festival presents the Jimmy Stewart Legacy Award along with a $5,000 cash prize to one film in the lineup that best embodies the on- and off-screen legacy of Stewart; a film  that demonstrates the triumph of the human spirit through determination and the defiance of odds, humble vulnerability and courage in the face of adversity.

“No performance has moved me more than Jimmy Stewart’s portrayal of George Bailey in It’s a Wonderful Life,” Heartland Film’s Artistic Director Greg Sorvig said. “Stewart remains an enduring American icon, hero and screen legend. We’re honored to open the Heartland Film Festival with Jimmy, the story behind the role that defined his legacy.”

The film is the untold true story of America’s most beloved actor and the iconic role that saved him, focusing on the most transformative season in Jimmy Stewart’s life – from winning the Academy Award® for Best Actor in The Philadelphia Story to enlisting and becoming a combat pilot in the U.S. Army Air Corps at the beginning of World War II. He flew 20 missions over Europe, rising to the rank of colonel by the end of the war, only to return home broken and disheartened. Then George Bailey and It’s a Wonderful Life came calling. Burns & Co. Entertainment, in partnership with Fathom Entertainment, will release Jimmy nationwide on Nov. 6 with a traditional theatrical release.

“We’re thrilled to have the Festival World Premiere of Jimmy at the Heartland Film Festival ahead of its nationwide release,” Producer Angela Galgani Sullivan said. “Jimmy Stewart’s spirit has long been celebrated at Heartland, and for good reason. He was a Hollywood legend, but at his core, he remained a small-town Pennsylvania kid shaped by service, humility, faith, and community. There’s no more fitting place to introduce his story to the world.”

Tickets for the Opening Night of the Heartland Film Festival will be available starting Thursday, Aug. 27, at HeartlandFilm.org. The full festival schedule and tickets will be available on Thursday, Sept. 17.