The full film lineup for the 4th Annual Academy Award®-Qualifying Indy Shorts International Film Festival is now available and we are pleased to announce that two of Shine Global’s films have been selected to play in the “Youth Impact” program: Through Our Eyes: Homefront by Director Kristi Jacobson and Virtually Free by Director André Robert Lee.

The festival is organized by the non-profit arts organization Heartland Film with the mission to “curate, promote and celebrate thoughtful and engaging films from diverse perspectives.”  This year, they reviewed 3,300 submission for the Indy Shorts Film festival to program 201 short films included in 33 themed programs which are available to watch virtuallyand in person in Indianapolis July 20-25.

–> Get your tickets for the Youth Impact program to watch Shine Global’s films here

Through Our Eyes: Homefront is directed by News and Documentary Emmy Award winner Kristi Jacobson (The Election Effect: Anmal, A Place at the Table, Solitary) and produced by Shine Global’s Alexandra Blaney and Catalyst Films’ Netsanet Negussie. There are currently 1.9 million service members and veterans relying on caregiver support in the United States, and 3.4 million children live in the homes of these caregivers. In HOMEFRONT, three children of veteran families cope with the emotional impact of having a wounded parent, navigate the unique challenges of visible and invisible injuries sustained during military service, and together journey toward collective healing.  The film is produced by Sesame Workshop in association with Shine Global and will be premiering on HBOMax on July 22 after the world premiere at Indy Shorts.

Virtually Free, Directed by André Robert Lee and produced by Shine Global’s Susan MacLaury and Alexandra Blaney, is a documentary about unlikely allies in Richmond, VA who partner to transform the juvenile justice system and stop mass incarceration. In the film, we meet Sid, Taee, and AR, three teens currently being held in a detention center who are offered the chance to become activists speaking truth to power by participating in a local arts organizations’ program.