Actor Will Poulter is to be honoured at the 35th Heartland Film Festival in Indianapolis, where he will attend a special screening of his drama "Union County" on 17 October before being recognised at the festival's awards brunch. The film, released by Oscilloscope Laboratories, stars Poulter alongside Noah Centineo as brothers navigating a court-mandated drug rehabilitation programme in rural Ohio amid the opioid crisis.

The festival runs from 8 to 18 October and will present more than 100 independent films, including 24 world or US premieres, 36 regional premieres, 24 Spotlight Screenings and eight Indiana Spotlight titles. Highlights include the opening-night world premiere of the Jimmy Stewart biopic "Jimmy", centrepiece film "Wild Horse Nine" and closing-night selection "The Debut", alongside contenders such as "Elsinore" and "La Bola Negra". Heartland Film, a nonprofit founded in Indianapolis in 1991, has awarded a total of $4 million in prizes over the years, the largest sum given by any North American film festival, and has showcased more than 2,000 features and shorts.