Heartland International Film Festival Artistic Director Greg Sorvig expects filmgoers will be pleased with the mix of more than 110 feature films at the 11-day festival.
The Oct. 10-20 festival includes 28 world/North American/U.S. premieres, 73 regional premieres, 20 special presentations from major distributors and 10 Indiana Spotlight films.
”Coming off a couple of years with strikes and other things, the caliber of films is back at a high level, and we have some of the best films of the year,” said Sorvig, a Carmel resident. “I’m thrilled to have this lineup. It’s a great mix.”
Sorvig said Heartland sets the tone with the three Spotlight showings: “A Real Pain” for Opening Night (Oct. 10); “Small Things Like These” (Oct, 16) for Centerpiece Showing; and “Emilia Pérez” for Closing Night (Oct. 20).
Sorvig saw “A Real Pain” at Sundance in January. Jesse Eisenberg plays the lead role and wrote and produced the film.
Sorvig said he connected with Eisenberg at Sundance. Both are 40 years old.
“It was my first and only ask for Opening Night, which usually doesn’t happen,” Sorvig said. “I was absolutely thrilled to get this film that I really connected with in a deep way and someone who has an Indiana connection in a deep way. The funny thing is, Jesse Eisenberg wears an IU hat two/thirds of the way.”
Sorvig said Eisenberg is an avid Indiana University fan. Eisenberg’s wife, Anna Strout, grew up in Bloomington.
“I don’t think I’ve seen a film where someone starred, wrote and produced (and) fires on all cylinders like this,” Sorvig said.
Sorvig said the film is a heavy favorite to be nominated for Academy Awards for best original screenplay and best supporting actor for Kieran Culkin.
The Centerpiece Screening features Cillian Murphy in “Small Things Like These.” Murphy earned the Oscar for Best Actor for “Oppenheimer” earlier this year. “Small Things Like These” premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival.
“It’s based on a true story of a father who fights against abuse in an Irish Catholic convent,” Sorvig said.
The film’s director, Tim Mielants, directed Murphy in several episodes of “Peaky Blinders.”
“It was serendipitous, just perfect timing, when we were looking to lock in a major film,” Sorvig. said. “I really like it and felt our patrons would really connect with it.”
Closing Night features “Emilia Pérez” from Netflix, starring Zoe Saldaña, Karla Sofía Gascón, Selena Gomez and Adriana Paz.
The actresses shared Best Actress awards as an ensemble at the Cannes Film Festival. Sorvig said the film has been shown at several major festivals.
“The main character, the real-life actress (Karla Sofía Gascón), is a trans woman, and she plays a cartel leader,” Sorvig said. “She has a sex change and becomes a woman in the film. It’s also a musical and a comedy. There’s a bunch of cross-genre elements. It’s an amazing, audacious film. It’s currently the film predicted to have the most nominations for any film for the Oscars. For Closing Night, we look for an exclamation point, something that will be talked about for months and months leading up to the Oscars.”
For more, visit heartlandfilm.org.