Category Archives: HIFF2015

The Obsessive Viewer Podcast – Ep 137 – HeartlandFF 2015: Part II – Rest of the Fest with James Sadwith, Alex Wolff, Stefania Owen, Kurt Nettleton, Michael Klein, Michael Covino and more!

Posted on November 2, 2015 by | Leave a comment

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OV137 – HeartlandFF 2015: Part II – Rest of the Fest with James Sadwith, Alex Wolff, Stefania Owen, Kurt Nettleton, Michael Klein, Michael Covino and more!

In part 2 of our Heartland Film Fest episode, Tiny asks me about the rest of the movies I watched at the festival. This episode also includes interviews with Kurt Nettleton (Your Catfish Friend), Michael Klein (Romeo is Bleeding), Michael Covino (Keep in Touch), and Luis Javier M. Henaine (Happy Times). There are also red carpet interviews with James Sadwith, Sara Elizabeth Timmins, Stefania Owen, and Alex Wolff from Coming Through the Rye. Continue reading →

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HIFF2015: Movie Review – Beyond Measure (2014)

Posted on October 29, 2015 by | Leave a comment

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  • Documentary Feature / USA
  • Director: Vicki Abeles
  • Writers: Vicki Abeles, Jeffrey Friedman, Mitzi Mock
  • Featured Subjects: Sir Ken Robinson, Linda Darling Hammond, Yong Zhao, Daniel Pink, Ron Berger

This review is part of my coverage of 2015’s Heartland Film Festival in Indianapolis. Click here for more of my coverage of the festival. You can find my coverage of other Indianapolis area film and TV events here.

Beyond Measure is Vicki Abeles‘ followup to her 2010 documentary Race to Nowhere. While her last film examined the pressure-filled lives of overworked students, Beyond Measure spotlights alternative learning methods created by students and faculty across the country to combat the outdated data-driven methods. Continue reading →

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The Obsessive Viewer Podcast – Ep 136 – HeartlandFF 2015: Part I – Best of the Fest with Filmmakers Patricia Riggen, Dave Manougian, Heather Jack, and Eshom and Ian Nelms

Posted on October 29, 2015 by | 1 comment

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OV136 – HeartlandFF 2015: Part I – Best of the Fest with Filmmakers Patricia Riggen, Dave Manougian, Heather Jack, and Eshom and Ian Nelms

In part 1 of our Heartland Film Fest episode, Tiny and I recount our experiences at the festival. I also go into detail about the best films I saw out of the 21 features and 23 shorts I watched during Heartland’s 10-day run. This episode also includes interviews with filmmakers Patricia Riggen (The 33), David Manougian (The Big Lonely), Heather Jack (Let’s Not Panic), and Ian & Eshom Nelms (Waffle Street). Continue reading →

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HIFF2015: Movie Review – Three Windows and a Hanging (2014)

Posted on October 28, 2015 by | 1 comment

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  • Narrative Feature / Festival Award Winner / Kosovo, Germany
  • Director: Isa Qosja
  • Writer: Zymber Kelmendi

This review is part of my coverage of 2015’s Heartland Film Festival in Indianapolis. Click here for more of my coverage of the festival. You can find my coverage of other Indianapolis area film and TV events here.

Isa Qosja‘s Three Windows and a Hanging is an emotionally jarring look into the patriarchal society of a Kosovo village rebuilding after war ravaged their community and its people. When school teacher Lushe tells a reporter that she and three other women from the village were raped by Serbian troops, the male villagers react.
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HIFF2015: Movie Review – Keep in Touch (2015)

Posted on October 28, 2015 by | Leave a comment

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  • Narrative Feature / Festival Award Winner / USA
  • Director: Sam Kretchmar
  • Writers: Sam Kretchmar, Michael Covino

This review is part of my coverage of 2015’s Heartland Film Festival in Indianapolis. Click here for more of my coverage of the festival. You can find my coverage of other Indianapolis area film and TV events here.

In Keep in Touch, Colin (Ryan Patrick Bachand) tries to reconnect with a long-lost childhood crush. When he finds out she died in a car accident many years ago, he becomes infatuated with her younger sister, an aspiring musician who bears a striking resemblance to the girl he used to love. Continue reading →

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HIFF2015: Movie Review – The Champions (2015)

Posted on October 27, 2015 by | Leave a comment

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  • Documentary Feature / USA
  • Director: Darcy Dennett
This review is part of my coverage of 2015’s Heartland Film Festival in Indianapolis. Click here for more of my coverage of the festival. You can find my coverage of other Indianapolis area film and TV events here.
I have always been a dog person so I write this with the caveat that my objectivity may be slightly impaired. Darcy Dennett’s The Champions is a moving account of what it takes to rehabilitate the shattered psyche of animals who have experienced intense trauma. The film accomplishes this by showcasing the amazing work of the individuals helping victims of Vick’s dog fighting ring with the ultimate goal of getting them adopted.

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HIFF2015: Movie Review – Superior (2015)

Posted on October 27, 2015 by | Leave a comment

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  • Narrative Feature / USA
  • Director: Edd Benda
  • Writer: Edd Benda
  • Cast: Paul Stanko, Thatcher Robinson

This review is part of my coverage of 2015’s Heartland Film Festival in Indianapolis. Click here for more of my coverage of the festival. You can find my coverage of other Indianapolis area film and TV events here.

In Superior, best friends Charlie and Derek set out on a two-week long bike ride around Lake Superior in the summer of 1969. The pair are weeks away from going their separate ways (college for Charlie and Vietnam for Derek), and they’re determined to make their final adventure count. Continue reading →

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HIFF2015: Movie Review – The Ambassador to Bern (2014)

Posted on October 26, 2015 by | Leave a comment

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  • Narrative Feature / Hungary
  • Director: Attila Szász
  • Writer: Norbert Köbli

This review is part of my coverage of 2015’s Heartland Film Festival in Indianapolis. Click here for more of my coverage of the festival. You can find my coverage of other Indianapolis area film and TV events here.

The Ambassador to Bern is a dramatic retelling of an incident that occurred in the aftermath of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution. On August 16th, 1958, two Hungarian immigrants broke into the Hungarian embassy in Bern and took the ambassador hostage at gunpoint. This film tells a version or the story that happened on that day.

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HIFF2015: Movie Review – Embers (2015)

Posted on October 26, 2015 by | Leave a comment

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  • Narrative Feature / Poland, USA
  • Director: Claire Carré
  • Writer: Charles Spano, Claire Carré

This review is part of my coverage of 2015’s Heartland Film Festival in Indianapolis. Click here for more of my coverage of the festival. You can find my coverage of other Indianapolis area film and TV events here.

Embers is a Poland and US co-production about the aftermath of a global neurological epidemic and how those who survive find meaning and connections in a world without memory. The movie follows several different perspectives that are independent of one another and collectively give a well-rounded view of how people are affected in this world.

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HIFF2015: Shorts Program 11 – This, That, and the Other

Posted on October 25, 2015 by | Leave a comment

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This review is part of my coverage of 2015’s Heartland Film Festival in Indianapolis. Click here for more of my coverage of the festival. You can find my coverage of other Indianapolis area film and TV events here.

Unlike the Sci-Fi and Art Appreciation shorts, This, That, and the Other didn’t have a clearly defined theme. As such this block of short films included 7 varied and unique films. Read my thoughts on each of the short films below.
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HIFF2015: Shorts Program 10 – Sci-Fi Shorts

Posted on October 25, 2015 by | Leave a comment

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This review is part of my coverage of 2015’s Heartland Film Festival in Indianapolis. Click here for more of my coverage of the festival. You can find my coverage of other Indianapolis area film and TV events here.

The 2015 Heartland Film Festival boasts well over 100 films in its schedule and many of those are short films. The shorts programs at Heartland group together films that fit common themes. Shorts Program 10 featured a collection of science fiction shorts. Continue reading →

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HIFF2015: Movie Review – Homeless (2015)

Posted on October 23, 2015 by | Leave a comment

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  • Narrative Feature / USA
  • Director: Clay Riley Hassler
  • Writers: Anna Fields, Clay Riley Hassler

This review is part of my coverage of 2015’s Heartland Film Festival in Indianapolis. Click here for more of my coverage of the festival. You can find my coverage of other Indianapolis area film and TV events here.

In Clay Riley Hassler‘s Homeless, Michael McDowell plays Gosh (pronounced Josh), a teenager who’s homeless and struggling to improve his situation. We follow Gosh as he spends his days searching for a job until nightfall when he goes back to the homeless shelter. When he meets a single mother at the mall, things start to look up.

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HIFF2015: Movie Review – Monty Python and the Meaning of Live (2014)

Posted on October 21, 2015 by | Leave a comment

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  • Documentary Feature / UK
  • Director: Roger Graef, James Rogan
  • Writers: John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Michael Palin
  • Featured Subjects: John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Michael Palin

This review is part of my coverage of 2015’s Heartland Film Festival in Indianapolis. Click here for more of my coverage of the festival. You can find my coverage of other Indianapolis area film and TV events here.

In July of 2014, the comedy geniuses of Monty Python reunited for a final ten show performance at The O2 in London. Monty Python and the Meaning of Live is an intimate look behind the scenes of that performance as well as a celebration of Monty Python and the incredible influence that the group had on comedy.

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HIFF2015: Movie Review – Fourth Man Out (2015)

Posted on October 21, 2015 by | Leave a comment

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  • Narrative Feature / Festival Award Winner / USA
  • Director: Andrew Nackman
  • Writer: Aaron Dancik
  • Cast: Evan Todd, Parker Young, Jon Gabrus, Chord Overstreet, Kate Flannery

This review is part of my coverage of 2015’s Heartland Film Festival in Indianapolis. Click here for more of my coverage of the festival. You can find my coverage of other Indianapolis area film and TV events here.

In Fourth Man Out, 24 year old Adam (Evan Todd) struggles with how to tell his best friends and his family that he’s gay. That’s the setup for Andrew Nackman‘s surprisingly poignant comedy exploring homophobia and the universally awkward feeling of dating in your mid-twenties.
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HIFF2015: Movie Review – Raiders! The Story of the Greatest Fan Film Ever Made (2015)

Posted on October 20, 2015 by | Leave a comment

Raiders!

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  • Documentary Feature / USA
  • Directors: Jeremy Coon, Tim Skousen
  • Featured Subjects: Chris Strompolos, Eric Zala, Jayson Lamb, Angela Rodriguez

This review is part of my coverage of 2015’s Heartland Film Festival in Indianapolis. Click here for more of my coverage of the festival. You can find my coverage of other Indianapolis area film and TV events here.

Raiders! The Story of the Greatest Fan Film Ever Made tells the story of three kids in 1982 who set out to create a shot for shot remake of Raiders of the Lost Ark in Mississippi. The project lasted seven years and all that was left to film was one crucial scene. Now over thirty years later, the men have reunited to complete their remake of Steven Spielberg’s iconic movie.

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