Romantic film wins award

INDIANAPOLIS -- "Love's Brother," a romantic drama directed by Jan Sardi, won the $50,000 grand prize at the Heartland Film Festival. Sardi and actor Adam Garcia accepted the prize during a gala Saturday night at Conseco Fieldhouse. The festival honors filmmakers who create movies that portray positive, life-affirming messages.\n"What I am always looking for as a writer and filmmaker is time to do the sort of stories that are important to me, and those stories aren't always the sort of no-brainers that studios want to develop and throw money at," Sardi said, whose previous films include "Shine."\nGarcia and Giovanni Ribisi portray two Italian immigrant brothers struggling to build new lives in post-World War II Australia, and one will not marry his girlfriend until the other finds a mail-order bride.\n"It's really sweet and, for me, it's a very sedate and staid performance," Garcia said. "More importantly, it inspired me to the world of independent films."\n"Love's Brother" also won best film, best director and best cinematography at the 2004 Houston International Film Festival.\nThe Heartland Film Festival, in its 13th year, began Thursday and ends Friday.