Actor Craig T. Nelson and others win awards at Heartland film festival

The 2024 Heartland International Film Festival announced more than $60,000 in awards before it wrapped up Oct. 20. At an Oct. 19 ceremony at the Jazz Kitchen, the festival handed out the biggest cash prizes to "La Cocina" and "Porcelain War."

Actor and producer Craig T. Nelson traveled to the presentation to accept the Pioneering Spirit Award: Lifetime Achievement Award. His new film "Green and Gold," which premiered at Heartland, also won the Jimmy Stewart Legacy Award.

From Oct. 10 to 20, Heartland showed more than 110 feature films, including 28 world, North American and U.S. premieres and 10 Indiana Spotlight films. The festival also made MovieMaker Magazine's list of the Top 25 Coolest Film Festivals in the World for the second year in a row.

Here's the full list of the 2024 awards:

Pioneering Spirit: Lifetime Achievement Award: Craig T. Nelson, who's known for the TV series "Coach" and "The Family Stone."

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Jimmy Stewart Legacy Award ($5,000 cash prize): "Green and Gold," in which a fourth-generation dairy farmer and his granddaughter, confronted with foreclosure, bet on the Green Bay Packers. The film also won the Narrative Official Selection Audience Choice Award.

Pioneering Spirit Award: Writer, producer and director Greg Kwedar, known for "Sing Sing" and "Rising from Ashes."

Narrative Grand Prize ($20,000 grand prize): "La Cocina," about an undocumented cook at a Manhattan kitchen who discovers a shocking revelation about the American waitress he loves.

Documentary Grand Prize ($20,000 grand prize): "Porcelain War," in which three Ukrainian artists defend their country and culture.

Humor & Humanity Award ($2,000 cash prize): "A Real Pain," about two cousins who reunite to tour Poland and honor their grandmother.

Richard D. Propes Narrative Social Impact Award ($2,000 cash prize): "Los Frikis," about teenagers who attempt to survive their country's economic crisis by injecting themselves with HIV so they can live in a government-run home.

Richard D. Propes Documentary Social Impact Award ($2,000 cash prize): "Zurawski v Texas," about women denied abortions who sue the state. The film also won the Documentary Official Selection Audience Choice Award.

Best Narrative Premiere Award ($2,500 cash prize): "The Paper Bag Plan," about a father with cancer who teaches his son, who is disabled, to bag groceries so he can live independently.

Best Documentary Premiere Award ($2,500 cash prize): "Testament (Заповіт)," about a soldier, chaplain and other Ukrainians who carve out lives as the war continues around them.

Indiana Spotlight Narrative Award ($2,000 cash prize): "Last Days of Summer," about two best friends whose lives are changed when one's older brother returns home unexpectedly.

Indiana Spotlight Documentary Award ($2,000 cash prize): "North Putnam," which chronicles the relationship between a rural Indiana school district and its community.

Overall Audience Choice Award Winner: "Champions of the Golden Valley," about the people of Bamyan who apply lessons from skiing in Afghanistan when their country collapses.

Narrative Special Presentation Audience Choice Award: "September 5," about an American sports broadcasting team that pivots from regular coverage of the 1972 Munich Olympics to reporting about Israeli athletes taken hostage.

Documentary Special Presentation Audience Choice Award: "Blink," about a family who takes a sight-seeing trip after three of their kids are diagnosed with an incurable eye condition.

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Indiana Spotlight Narrative Audience Choice Award: "Dirty Laundry," about two best friends whose life-changing experience in a laundromat challenges their friendship and future.

Indiana Spotlight Documentary Audience Choice Award: "The Waiting Game," which follows a nonprofit fighting for ABA players to receive payment from the NBA, which they helped build.

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Contact IndyStar reporter Domenica Bongiovanni at 317-444-7339 or [email protected]. Follow her on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter: @domenicareports.