Announces Academy Award-qualifying winners
The 2023 Indy Shorts International Film Festival (Indy Shorts), presented by Heartland Film, concluded on Sunday, July 23, with a record number of film submissions (over 3,900), filmmakers in attendance (160) and sold-out screenings (23). Indy Shorts also saw a 40 percent increase in attendance from 2022.
The sixth edition of the festival ran July 18 to 23. Screenings were hosted at Living Room Theaters, Newfields, and the Fort Ben Cultural Campus, as well as virtually. The day before the festival started, MovieMaker Magazine announced its list of the 25 Coolest Film Festivals in the World for 2023, which included the Indy Shorts International Film Festival. Editor-in-Chief of MovieMaker Magazine, Tim Molloy, attended the festival and welcomed filmmakers and attendees at the Kick-Off Party.
The Academy Award-qualifying festival announced its award winners and presented more than $30,000 in cash prizes at its Awards Ceremony, which took place on Saturday, July 23, at Tinker House Events. The Festival’s three Grand Prize-winning films, We Were Meant To (Tari Wariebi, United States), Oasis (Justine Martin, France) and Rosemary A.D. (After Dad) (Ethan Barrett, United States), will receive Academy Award qualification in their respective categories and $5,000 in cash prizes.
The Audience Choice Award-winning films were announced on Monday, July 24. The Overall Audience Choice Award went to To My Father (Sean Schiavolin, United States), which depicts Deaf actor Troy Kotsur’s journey to winning an Oscar and his father’s inspiring influence on him, despite a tragic accident.
“Congratulations to all of the Indy Shorts Award-winning filmmakers. With a record number of 3,900 film submissions and less than 4 percent selected, just making it into the festival is an incredible honor,” Artistic Director Greg Sorvig said. “The filmmakers recognized this evening captured the hearts of our esteemed jury members, and we couldn’t be more pleased to help set three shorts on the path towards the Academy Awards.”
The 32nd Heartland International Film Festival is scheduled for Oct. 5 to 15. Tickets and the film lineup will be available on Sept. 15.
Click here to read more about all the winners from this year’s Indy Shorts.