The 35th Heartland Film Festival runs October 8 to 18, 2026 across six Indianapolis venues and a streaming hub. The theatre schedule carried 261 dated entries when this desk read it on 23 September 2026, 259 of them inside the eleven days. Weekday entries fall into two blocks.
The weekday shape
Each weekday opens with an early-afternoon screening and closes with an evening one. The published first starts are 2:00 PM on Friday 9 October, 1:30 PM on Monday 12 October, 12:15 PM on Tuesday 13 October, 2:00 PM on Wednesday 14 October, 12:00 PM on Thursday 15 October and 1:00 PM on Friday 16 October. The published last starts are 8:00 PM on 9 and 13 October, 7:45 PM on 12, 14 and 16 October and 7:30 PM on 15 October.
The weekend days run longer. Saturday 10 October carries 33 entries between 12:00 PM and 8:00 PM. Saturday 17 October carries 38 between 11:45 AM and 8:00 PM. Sunday 11 October carries 29 between 12:00 PM and 7:45 PM. Sunday 18 October carries 23 between 10:30 AM and 6:00 PM.
The interval on a two-screening day
Friday 16 October shows the shape. TBA 1 | Family Matinee: Fing! runs 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM at the Indy Art Center’s Frank Basile Theater. The last of the day’s 29 entries starts at 7:45 PM. A guest holding the matinee and an evening screening holds an interval of nearly five hours between the two start times.
The four published slots
hotelSlots publishes four day-use slots: morning 6AM-12PM, afternoon 12PM-6PM, evening 6PM-12AM and overnight 12AM-6AM. A guest books one slot or combines several for full-day coverage.
An afternoon slot covers the interval after a 1:00 PM screening. An evening slot covers a late finish. The brand publishes day-use rates at 30 to 75 percent below the nightly rate at the same property, no booking fee and 103,857+ hotels across 46 states. Its day-use page publishes 40 to 60 percent below the overnight rate and lists pool, gym, Wi-Fi and shower access as included.
The brand publishes its restricted states as Florida, Hawaii, Iowa and Washington. Indiana is not among them.
The Indianapolis base
Dayuse publishes an average of $87.43 for a day room in Indianapolis. Engine publishes an Indianapolis average of $128 per night across 1.2 million public rate observations collected from May 2024 to April 2026, with October at $134. Engine labels those figures par rates, the cheapest public price at the time of each search. Both are platform claims.
The hotelSlots Indianapolis directory page counts 273 hotels in its heading and in its body line. A separate body paragraph on the same page reads 123 hotels. Both figures belong to the platform, and availability moves by date.
The venues on the published record
The release lists six venues with addresses and run dates. The Alamo Drafthouse Cinema at the Square at 3898 Lafayette Rd runs October 9 to 19. The Living Room Theaters at 745 E 9th St, Suite 810 runs October 10 to 19. The Scottish Rite Cathedral at 650 N Meridian St runs October 7 and 8. Newfields at 4000 N Michigan Rd runs October 9, 11, 12, 15 and 19. The Indy Art Center at 820 E 67th St runs October 12 to 18. The Kan-Kan Cinema at 1258 Windsor St runs October 15 to 19.
Straight-line distances from 1 N. Meridian St., read on 23 September 2026: the Scottish Rite Cathedral 975 m, the Living Room Theaters 1,784 m and the Kan-Kan Cinema 3,092 m.
Tickets and access
The VIP Fest Pass is $220 and $176 at the member price. Theater tickets are $13, virtual tickets $15 and premium events $10 to $20. Heartland Film members receive 20 percent off tickets and Fest Passes.
Many, but not all, festival films stream in the United States through October 19. All festival venues are ADA-accessible, and accessibility questions go to the box office team at boxoffice@heartlandfilm.org. The festival ranks first in the 2026 USA TODAY 10BEST Readers’ Choice Awards for best film festival.
Before you book
The festival states that the schedule is subject to change and that the online schedule may differ from the printed guidebook. Match the day-use slot to the screening times you hold, and recheck the online schedule during the festival.
