Kinyarwanda, a film about hope, redemption and religious tolerance in the midst of the 1994 Rwandan genocide against the Tutsi, has been nominated for the grand prize at the Heartland Film Festival, Ishmael Ntihabose, the Executive Producer of the film has said.

The film is to contend with four other narrative feature award-winning films: Inuk, Red Dog, Romantics Anonymous and The Hammer, for the US$100,000 grand cash prize.

Directed and written by American filmmaker, Alrick Brown, the film recently won the World Cinema Dramatic Audience Award at the 27th Sundance Film Festival 2011.

The 2011 Heartland Film Festival started on October 13-22, screening 129 American and international films at various locations throughout Indianapolis in the United States.

Heartland will award more than US$150,000 in cash prizes to this year’s winners, including the US$100,000 Grand Prize Award for Best Narrative Feature, the US $25,000 Award for Best Documentary Feature, and the US $10,000 Vision Award for Best Short Film.

The 10-day film festival will end on Saturday, October 22, with the time twister ‘Shuffle’, starring T.J. Thyne, and the announcement of the 2011 Audience Choice Award winners.

Launched in 1991, the festival takes place each October in Indianapolis, screening independent films from around the world.

Heartland Festival recognises and honours filmmakers whose work promotes positive change in people’s lives through the transformative power of film.

Each year, Heartland awards more than US$150,000 in cash prizes and presents its Crystal Heart Awards to the top-judged submissions. The organisation has awarded more than US$2.3 million to support filmmakers during the past 19 years.

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