Alamo Drafthouse Cinema at The Square Steps Into a Larger Role With Heartland Film Festival
When a partnership works, you extend it. Alamo Drafthouse Cinema at The Square and Heartland Film Festival did exactly that, turning a one-year sponsorship into a three-year commitment through 2028. Alamo Drafthouse Cinema at The Square, Indiana’s first Alamo Drafthouse location and a centerpiece of Sojos Capital’s long-term redevelopment of the Lafayette Road corridor, returns as presenting sponsor of the Heartland Film Festival, deepening a relationship that brought festival screenings to the west side for the first time last year.
The expanded sponsorship places one of Indianapolis’s most anticipated annual cultural events at the heart of the west side’s ongoing revitalization, connecting two organizations with a shared belief that exceptional storytelling deserves an exceptional venue.
Each October, the Heartland Film Festival draws filmmakers, industry professionals and audiences from across the Midwest and beyond to experience independent cinema at its best, from debut features to award-winning documentaries to international shorts that rarely find their way to mainstream screens. Building on last year’s screenings and inaugural sponsorship, Alamo Drafthouse Cinema at The Square will take on an expanded role for the 2026 festival and beyond, serving as a primary venue for screenings and special events through 2028.
For audiences, that means access to festival films in a setting built specifically for people who take cinema seriously. Alamo Drafthouse Cinema at The Square operates with a strict no-talking, no-late-seating policy, full in-seat food and beverage service, and a programming philosophy that treats every film, from blockbusters to rarities, as worth watching with full attention.
Sojos Capital founder Fabio De La Cruz bought his first commercial property on the west side of Indianapolis and never left.
“The Heartland Film Festival brings thousands of film lovers to Indianapolis every October,” said Fabio De La Cruz, founder of Sojos Capital. “This neighborhood is unique. There is no other place in Indiana like it. Now we are bringing world-class cinema and culture right here. We are just getting started with what The Square will become.”
The decision to deepen this sponsorship reflects something broader happening along the Lafayette Road corridor on Indianapolis’s west side. The Square has emerged as one of the city’s most culturally active destinations, a hub for film, food and community gathering that is reshaping both the perception and the reality of the west side. The Alamo Drafthouse Cinema location here is not a suburban multiplex. It is a purpose-built cinema that draws audiences from across Indianapolis who want something different from the standard moviegoing experience.
The Heartland Film Festival has been celebrating authentic, meaningful storytelling for more than three decades. Held each October in Indianapolis, the festival showcases feature films, documentaries and short films from filmmakers around the world, with a particular focus on stories that reflect the full range of human experience. It has become a launching platform for independent filmmakers and a must-attend event for cinema audiences throughout the Midwest.
Alamo Drafthouse Cinema operates locations across the country and has earned a national reputation as one of America’s most distinctive cinema chains. The Indianapolis location at The Square brings that experience to the west side, offering both mainstream releases and carefully curated independent programming in a setting designed for film enthusiasts who want more than a seat and a screen.
The 35th Heartland Film Festival runs October 8-18, 2026. Festival passes and individual screening tickets will be announced at HeartlandFilm.org. Additional programming announcements will be made in the coming months. For updates on The Square and everything happening at Sojos Capital, visit SojosCapital.com.