This week, Hollywood lost one of its best wordsmiths when screenwriter Horton Foote passed away.  The 92-year-old writer has classics like To Kill a Mockingbird to his credit, as well as lesser known (but just as moving) films like Tender Mercies and The Trip To Bountiful.

In 1995, Heartland honored Mr. Foote with the Crystal Heart Career Achievement Award, predecessor to the distinguished Pioneering Spirit Award bestowed on industry leaders today.  Below is the tribute video that introduced this talented, accomplished man before he accepted the award.

Heartland’s thoughts and prayers go out all of Mr. Foote’s friends and family in their time of loss.  His contributions to the art of filmmaking will continue to inspire audiences for years to come.

Read the remembrance about Horton Foote at Variety.com

Truly Moving Picture Award winner Phoebe in Wonderland opens in select cities Friday, March 6.  Starring Felicity Huffman, Bill Pullman, Patricia Clarkson and the talented young Elle Fanning as Phoebe, the movie was the Closing Night selection at the 2008 Heartland Film Festival.  Writer/director Daniel Barnz visited Indianapolis for the occasion.  Watch his Q&A below, then visit the official site for the trailer and tickets/showtimes!

As the demand grows in central Indiana for valuable filmmaking insights, Heartland Truly Moving Pictures has responded with a year-round program of exclusive seminars that are geared toward filmmakers at every level, from student to professional.

This year, Heartland announces more exciting opportunities to hear from the experts where the industry is headed and how to become a part of it.  Heartland Film Institute dates for 2009 are

April 30 – The Business of Filmmaking, featuring producer Johan Bas

September 10 - Animation, featuring John Ludwick from IU’s New Media department

October 19 – as part of the 2009 Heartland Film Festival, this daylong institute will bring aspiring filmmakers into contact with not only the up-and-coming filmmakers featured at the Festival, but established industry professionals who want to share their experiences.

Heartland Institute events are held at the IUPUI Campus Center.  Please check back often or contact Heartland Truly Moving Pictures (info@trulymovingpictures.org) for further details.  Groups welcome.

After his first feature film, writer/director Joel Hopkins thought it time to pursue more jobs directing films.  So he passed along the film to actress/screenwriter Emma Thompson and the production team behind Truly Moving Picture Nanny McPhee.  Though it didn’t land him the job, Thompson liked what she saw and told Hopkins she’d like to work together in the future.

“I sort of went away,” he said recently during a phone interview, “and thought, ‘That doesn’t happen every day.  I should really do something with that.”

So he got to work creating a character for Ms. Thompson.  Kate, as she is in Last Chance Harvey (opening nationwide Friday, January 16), is lonely and stuck.  Harvey (played by Dustin Hoffman) is, too.  When their lives intersect after a series of rather mundane yet entirely serendipitous events, they’ll both change the other in ways neither could have ever predicted.

In limited release December 25, critics are already abuzz about the movie.  It garnered a Golden Globe nod for both Thompson and Hoffman, and is generating praise from Entertainment Weekly to The Hollywood Reporter.   It’s a character study, and Hopkins readily admits such.

“The plot of our story is not groundbreaking,” he confessed easily.  “I can only write a story where I care about and am interested in the character.  It’s got to be three-dimensional.  When you can take a character on an journey, I think it leads you to some truth.

As the film opens, Harvey is not having a good week.  A washed-up commercial jingle writer, he’s on the verge of losing his job but must leave for his daughter’s wedding in England.  What should be a joyous occasion is deflated when she informs Harvey she’s asked her stepfather to walk her down the aisle.  Meanwhile Kate endures a dead-end job, humiliating first dates and a needy mother as nothing out of the ordinary in her day to day life.   In one pivotal scene in an airport lounge, Harvey and Kate strike up a conversation.  The rest, as they say, is history.

Asked what he’d like audiences to take away from the film, Hopkins takes his time generating an answer, stopping and starting as he’s not quite sure how to articulate his intentions.  Eventually, he sums it up much as Harvey might have:

“They gave me an hour and a half of their lives, and I hope they find it worthwhile.”

Overture Film’s Last Chance Harvey and Twentieth Century Fox’s Marley & Me are the latest films to receive the prestigious Heartland Truly Moving Picture Award from Heartland Truly Moving PicturesTM, announced today by the organization’s President and CEO Jeffrey L. Sparks. From director/writer Joel Hopkins, Last Chance Harvey released in select theaters on December 25 and garnered Golden Globe nominations for both Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson. In Marley & Me, a lovable yellow lab who may just be the worst dog in the world manages to bring out the best in the Grogan family.

Distributed by Overture Films and expanding into theaters nationwide on January 16, Last Chance Harvey follows New Yorker Harvey Shine (Dustin Hoffman), who’s on the verge of losing his dead-end job as a jingle writer. Harvey goes to London for a weekend to attend his daughter’s (Liane Balaban) wedding only to learn she has chosen to have her stepfather (James Brolin) walk her down the aisle instead of him. Doing his best to hide his devastation, he leaves the wedding before the reception in hopes of getting to the airport on time, but misses his plane anyway. When he calls his boss to explain, he is fired on the spot. Drowning his sorrows at the airport bar, Harvey strikes up a conversation with Kate (Emma Thompson), a slightly prickly, 40-something employee of the Office of National Statistics. Kate, whose life is limited to work, the occasional humiliating blind date and endless phone calls from her smothering mother (Eileen Atkins), is touched by Harvey, who finds himself energized by her intelligence and compassion. The growing connection between the pair inspires both as they unexpectedly transform one another’s lives.
 
“Quietly compelling and richly poignant, Joel Hopkins’ Last Chance Harvey may begin as the story of two strangers alone in the world, but it segues effortlessly into a portrait of love in its simplest form—unconditional,” said Sparks about the film and its message.
 
The number one movie at the box office over the holiday season, Marley & Me is based on the memoir by newspaper man John Grogan about the puppy he and his wife adopt as newlyweds at the beginning of their lives together. In no time at all, Marley grows into a 100-pound steamroller of unbridled energy that turns the Grogan home into a disaster area. He flunks obedience school, chews off dry-wall, takes a bite out of the sofa, overturns garbage cans, steals a Thanksgiving turkey, consumes pillows and flowers, drinks toilet water, and chases the UPS guy. Amidst the mayhem he generates through the years, Marley sees the Grogans through the ups and downs of family life, through job and home changes, and most of all, through the myriad challenges of a growing family. As John and Jenny come to realize, Marley – “the world’s worst dog” – somehow brings out the best in them.
 
Last Chance Harvey and Marley & Me are two of the first films to receive the Truly Moving Picture Award distinction in 2009. To view Heartland’s complete list of Truly Moving Pictures, visit www.TrulyMovingPictures.org.
 
Heartland Truly Moving Pictures, a non-profit organization, seeks to recognize and honor filmmakers whose work explores the human journey by expressing hope and emphasizing the best of the human spirit.  Its flagship event, the Heartland Film Festival®, launched in 1991 and runs each October in Indianapolis, screening independent films from around the world. Each year, the Festival awards $200,000 in cash prizes and presents its Crystal Heart Awards to the top-judged submissions.  Heartland has awarded more than $2 million to support filmmakers during the last 17 years. The organization’s Truly Moving Picture Award was created to honor films released theatrically that align with Heartland’s mission. By bestowing a watermark to honored films, the award allows studios and distributors to inform audiences of a film’s uplifting message and appeal.  Heartland is also dedicated to its relationship with the National Collaboration for Youth and its expanding F.I.L.M., “Finding Inspiration in Literature & Movies,” Project.  For more information, visit www.TrulyMovingPictures.org.

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This time of year is a movie-lover’s dream.  The studios trot out the best of the best so that heavy hitters like The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Revolutionary Road are fresh on Academy voter’s minds.  

But what about the first half of 2008?  What about all those great movies that came out in January, February and March?  National Public Radio movie critic Bob Mondello has taken the time to recommend a handful of movies from these forgotten months.

Several worthy movies make the cut, but most notably are the inclusion of two Fox Searchlight releases recognized as Truly Moving Picture Award winners.  Young @ Heart, the story of a senior-citizen’s choir that performs the likes of Coldplay and Sonic Youth, and Under The Same Moon (pictured), about a young Mexican boy who manages to cross the border in search of his mother in southern California, are both small films that aren’t getting quite as much play in the press these days as they may deserve.

Also on the list is the character portrait The Visitor, recognized by Heartland as a movie that will give you something to think about as well.

Both are available on DVD, so you can add them to a Netflix queue with just a few clicks of the mouse.  Too much work for you?  Leave a comment here and we’ll select one lucky moviefan to get a copy of each on DVD!

Read the NPR article

Related:  An interview with Under the Same Moon writer/director Patricia Riggen.  Listen  |  Read

Already making countless top 1o lists, and even being heralded as the best film of 2008 by some critics, Truly Moving Picture Award winner Wall*E added yet another accolade to the list as it picked up the Best Animated Feature award at the ceremony in Hollywood on Sunday night.

Congratulations to the Walt Disney Pictures/Pixar release.  If you haven’t seen this charming, futuristic fairy tale, it’s now available on Disney DVD and Blu-Ray.  In fact, we’ve got a copy for one lucky winner who leaves a comment below!

See the complete list of Golden Globe winner.

Related:  Get the Wall*E Discussion Guide

It was a resounding hit over the holiday weekend, and it’s not too late to catch the latest Truly Moving Picture Award winner to hit theaters, Twentieth Century Fox’s Marley & Me.

Based on the best-selling novel by John Grogan, Marley just may be the world’s worst dog.  But over the years he spends with John, his wife Jenny and the kids who come along the way, Marley turns into more than just a family dog.  He’s a friend, companion and member of the household who brings out the best in them.

The movie speaks to the heart in a voice both tender and hilarious. It brings into sharp focus the loyalty, commitment and grace required to make any lasting relationship possible through the best of times and, as is inevitable, the difficult times, too.

Watch the trailer below, then visit the official movie site and find showtimes near you!

Heartland Truly Moving Pictures hosted its annual Thank You Luncheon on December 4, 2008, graciously hosted by the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.  Each year after the annual film festival, Heartland invites those integral supporters for a catered luncheon to show appreciation for their efforts and contributions throughout the year.

Said Amanda Bureau, Heartland’s Volunteer and Special Events Coordinator:

Heartland’s volunteers are truly indispensable.  They are involved in all aspects of the Festival, from planning the events to working at the theaters to providing hospitality for the filmmakers and guests.  They also provide valuable assistance in Heartland’s year-round programming, educational, marketing and fundraising efforts.

Three annual awards were presented at the program, all to supporters of Heartland Truly Moving Pictures who helped make 2008 one of the best years yet.

KeyBank accepts the Persistence of Vision Award

Representatives from KeyBank were in attendance to accept the Persistence of Vision award, given to the sponsor who goes above and beyond their partnership with Heartland to engage new audiences in new ways.  KeyBank made it possible to broadcast the 2008 Announcement Celebration live online, and promotes the annual events to customers and employees alike.  (What is “persistence of vision”?  Learn more!)

Veteran volunteer Barb Jablonski was surprised with the President’s Volunteer Award for demonstrating outstanding leadership and enthusiasm in furthering Heartland’s mission and reach.  She’s served on countless committees over the years and was selected by Heartland out of a number of worthy nominees.

Finally, Tia Nielsen received the Paul and Marie Sparks Volunteer Hours Award for clocking in over 150 hours committed to Heartland events and meetings.  Her overwhelming enthusiasm contributed to marketing efforts and event support throughout the Festival cycle.

Interested in being a part of Hearltand’s Volunteer efforts?  Register today!

Whether you made it to the festivities or not, now online are the complete photo albums from the 2008 Heartland Film Festival.  From Opening Night to Closing, experience all the buzz and excitement of over 60 films, countless special guests and filmmakers, and bigger audiences than we’d ever seen.  You can see all the albums by clicking here (http://www.heartlandfilmfestival.org/photo_gallery.aspx?CollectionName=08Festival).  Below are just a few favorites!