Eleven days, one opening screening
The 35th Heartland Film Festival runs 8 to 18 October 2026 across six Indianapolis venues. The organiser's ticketing platform, read on 25 September 2026, lists 260 in-person screenings and events inside those eleven days. Opening Thursday, 8 October, carries one: Opening Night: JIMMY at 6:30 p.m. at the Scottish Rite Cathedral, ending 9:10 p.m., flagged sold out on the same read. A festival preview screening on Wednesday 7 October sits outside the run.
The load starts the next afternoon and holds through the run. Friday 9 October carries 22 entries, Saturday 10 October 33, Sunday 11 October 29, Monday 12 October 19, Tuesday 13 October 23, Wednesday 14 October 20, Thursday 15 October 23, Friday 16 October 29, Saturday 17 October 38 and Sunday 18 October 23, a published daily range of 19 to 38.
The arrival curve starts before noon
First starts run from 11:45 a.m. on Saturday 17 October to 2 p.m. on the opening Friday. The published first start by date: 11:45 a.m. on 17 October, 10:30 a.m. on 18 October for the Awards Brunch, 12 p.m. on 10, 11 and 15 October, 12:15 p.m. on 13 October, 1 p.m. on 16 October, 1:30 p.m. on 12 and 14 October and 2 p.m. on 9 October.
The first 90 minutes of each day carry between three and nine entries: nine on 17 October, eight on 10 October, five on 9, 14, 15 and 16 October, four on 12 and 18 October, and three on 11 and 13 October. Arrivals land across the late morning. A standard 3 p.m. check-in sits after that day's first screening has started on every full day of the run.
The midweek block carries the room nights
Monday 12 October through Thursday 15 October holds 85 of the 260 entries, at 19, 23, 20 and 23. Forty-nine of those 85 start at 5 p.m. or later, split 13, 12, 13 and 11 across the four nights. Across all eleven days, 135 of the 260 entries start at 5 p.m. or later.
The evening load repeats through the week. The count of entries starting at 5 p.m. or later runs 16, 14, 15, 13, 12, 13, 11, 16, 16 and eight across the ten days from 9 October to 18 October. Saturday 17 October is the largest single day at 38 entries.
The late-return clock
The platform publishes an end time for every entry, so each night's last finish is published. The latest finish by date: 11 p.m. on Friday 9 October, the Kick-Off Party at Living Room Theaters Bar & Lounge; 10:14 p.m. on Friday 16 October, Possible Love at Kan-Kan Cinema; 9:46 p.m. on Saturday 17 October; 9:44 p.m. on Saturday 10 October; 9:36 p.m. on Tuesday 13 October; 9:24 p.m. on Sunday 11 October; 9:19 p.m. on Wednesday 14 October; 9:18 p.m. on Monday 12 October; 9:12 p.m. on Thursday 15 October; and 7:45 p.m. on Sunday 18 October, the Closing Night screening.
Ten of the eleven nights end after 9 p.m. and five end after 9:30 p.m. Opening night ends at 9:10 p.m.
Where the rooms sit
The venues with their published addresses: Alamo Drafthouse Cinema at The Square, 3898 Lafayette Road; the Frank Basile Theater at Indy Art Center, 820 E. 67th St; Kan-Kan Cinema; the Tobias Theater at Newfields, 4000 N. Michigan Road; Living Room Theaters, 745 E. 9th Street Suite 810; and the Scottish Rite Cathedral, 650 N. Meridian Street.
The platform names 16 rooms across those buildings. Alamo Drafthouse theatres 1, 3, 4, 8, 9 and 14 hold 152 of the 260 entries, and Living Room Theaters' screens 3, 4 and 7 hold a further 78.
What the tickets and passes cost
Prices come off the platform's own ticket buckets, and 250 of the 260 entries price standard admission at $13. Others price differently: Opening Night: JIMMY at $75 for reserved seating, the Centerpiece Screening of Wild Horse Nine at $15, the Family Matinee of Fing! at $6 and the PitchDox Main Event at $7. The Awards Brunch prices general admission at $15 and the Closing Night screening of The Debut at $20. Two entries carried a $15 option beside free admission.
Festival passes sell at $220 for the VIP Fest Pass and $176 for members, $430 for the Duo Fest Pass and $344 for members, $120 for the Theater 10-Pack and $96 for members, and $140 for the Streaming 10-Pack and $112 for members.
The virtual hub
The platform lists 56 streaming entries running from 8 October at 12 p.m. to 18 October at 11:59 p.m. Eastern, and the festival states that many, but not all, of its films are available to stream in the US through 19 October.
Three published facts shape the week a hotel sells. The first screening starts at 2 p.m. or earlier on every full day, the Monday-to-Thursday block carries 85 entries with 49 at 5 p.m. or later, and ten nights end after 9 p.m.