Awarding a combined $90,000 in cash prizes for 2025 between HFF and Indy Shorts, Heartland Film has bestowed more than $4 million to independent filmmakers since 1992 – the largest total amount awarded by any film festival in North America.

2026 HFF Prizes include:
- Narrative Feature Grand Prize – $20,000
- Documentary Feature Grand Prize – $20,000
- Richard D. Propes Social Impact Awards (Narrative and Documentary) – $2,000 each
- Hoodox Indiana Documentary Award – $2,000
- Indiana Narrative Award – $2,000
- Jimmy Stewart Legacy Award – $5,000
- Humor & Humanity Award – $2,000
- Best Premiere Awards (Narrative and Documentary) – $2,500 each
- Indiana Film Journalists Association Award (Best US Narrative Spotlight Film) – No cash prize

Audience Choice Awards (Overall Narrative, Overall Documentary, Narrative Official Selection, Documentary Official Selection, Indiana Narrative, Indiana Documentary, Narrative Spotlight, Documentary Spotlight, Horror). Note that films eligible for the juried Indiana Awards are also eligible for Grand Prizes and other juried cash awards but are only considered for the Indiana Audience Choice awards. – No cash prizes

Films selected as Official Selections are eligible for Grand Prize Awards, the Jimmy Stewart Legacy Award, Humor & Humanity Award, and Audience Choice Awards. Spotlights (primarily major studio sneak peeks/films with major distribution) are not eligible for Grand Prizes. Films making their US or World premiere are eligible for premiere awards.

INDIANA AWARDS
Celebrating films with strong Indiana ties. Eligible films must meet one of the following:
- Director or producer is an Indiana resident
- Leading actor/actress is an Indiana resident
- At least 50% of the film was shot in Indiana

Two awards: Indiana Narrative Award and Hoodox Indiana Documentary Award, $2,000 each. Heartland Film may combine categories if fewer than three films are programmed in a category.

JIMMY STEWART LEGACY AWARD
Awarded to a feature-length narrative or documentary that best reflects Jimmy Stewart’s on and off-screen legacy—stories that demonstrate the triumph of the human spirit through determination and the defiance of odds, humble vulnerability, and courage in the face of adversity. $5,000 cash prize.

RICHARD D. PROPES SOCIAL IMPACT AWARDS
Will honor films that showcase stories centered on the fight for equality, justice, or feature stories/subjects that have made an impact on society. One narrative and one documentary winner, $2,000 cash prize each. All films are eligible.

HUMOR & HUMANITY AWARD
The winning film tastefully combines comedy and pathos to inspire filmmakers and audiences through the transformative power of film. $2,000 cash prize.

PRIZE DISBURSEMENT
Cash prizes are awarded to the film’s director or production LLC upon submission of a W-9 or W-8BEN. Directors may also donate prizes to approved charitable causes.