Heartland’s Mission
The 18th annual Heartland Film Festival opened with the screening of “Hachi: A Dog’s Tale” at The Murat Centre. The ten-day line up of films and special events took place on October 15-24, 2009 with 87 different films around the world brought to Indianapolis.
“We believe that one film can move us to laughter, to tears or to make a difference. Hachi: A Dog’s Tale is a film that demonstrates that One Film Can.”
Heartland’s mission is to recognize films and filmmakers whose work explores the human journey by artistically expressing hope and respect for the positive values of life.
These award-winning films are made up of moments that are emotional and inspiring, causing you to look at your life from a different perspective and be inspired to take action.
A Whirl of Activity
To start the festive event, a driver greeted me at the airport with a long limousine. It could have fit ten people.
All details were covered and attended to beautifully – the flight, hotel, and warm assistance with every detail of my stay. Whisked into a reception upon arriving, every day was packed with events. I even participated in my first live TV morning show interview.
I was so nervous, I can barely recall doing it.
An Evening to Remember
The day of the Hachi: A Dog’s Tale screening, there were two events – one was an intimate cocktail hour with the major screening donors, followed by a larger pre-screening reception where I gave a few words on stage after being introduced by the program director, Jeffrey Sparks.
The Heartland Truly Moving Picture Award was presented to me by the president, Jeffrey Sparks.
The screening was held in a gorgeous old theatre with tiers of balcony seating, too. After another introduction, I introduced the film that would change the hearts of those waiting to watch.
Then Hachi: A Dog’s Tale screened.
On the Spot
After, I participated in a Q&A on stage. Footlights flooded my spot on the stage and my eyes. Not being able to see the audience, I relaxed and actually was very animated talking about my favorite topic: Hachi!
I shocked myself.
I’m the girl who froze up in my high school drama class and completely blanked out on my lines. Total white out. I dropped the class. But there I was, the words somehow flowed from my mouth. I was talking about my favorite subject, of course.
A reception for all guests followed the screening, and I was overwhelmed with the emotional impact people felt for Hachi.
Later, an usher told me one lady left the theatre crying so hard, that she dropped tissues all along the lobby!
I heard many stories of how Hachi impacted people’s feelings. Do you have your story?
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