INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – The Heartland International Film Festival returned for its 33rd year on Thursday.

This year’s festival features more than 200 filmmakers who will be around for ‘Q&A’ sessions after their screenings.

Organizers are hoping the films can show off different perspectives with the theme “Expand Your Universe.” The festival takes that literally and has been using images of space to promote the 11-day event.

Among the more than 120 films in the festival, 11 of them are labeled as “Indiana Spotlight” films. These are movies that are made by Hoosier or were made in the state.

One of those is “Dirty Laundry,” which follows two friends under a spell that makes them unable to tell a lie.

The movie made its world premiere at the Tobias Theater at Newfields on Sunday.

Director and writer Rocky Walls says it was a privilege to show it in his backyard.

“This has just been a continuation of a dream come true,” Walls said. it’s fun. You’ll see films like, like ours and independent Indiana, Hoosier made film or films — sometimes the world premieres of films that you’re gonna find out later in six months about during Oscars season.”

“Dirty Laundry” joins “Love, Danielle” as one of 25 films making their world or U.S. premiere at Heartland International Film Festival.

The comedic drama follows Danielle, a woman who learns she has a BRCA1 gene mutation that significantly increases her risk for breast cancer. She tries to navigate this new information while her sister goes through chemotherapy for the disease.

Written by Devin Sidell, the movie is based on her finding out she has the mutation. She says it’s important to make the story relatable.

“Everybody has a situation where they’ve had to overcome some sort of challenge,” Sidell said. “When you look back on it, I think you’re able to see a lot of the comedy and it helps you kind of process the trauma.”

“Stripper Boyz,” already made its world premiere during the film festival on Sunday at the Living Room Theaters.

It’s a documentary turned buddy comedy, that follows a bachelor party in Las Vegas. Writers Jozef Fahey and Stephen Sanow use the occasion to go on a quest in Sin City.

“We were going through some sort of confidence issues,” Sanow said. “(Fahey) wanted to feel more sexy for his wife and I wanted to feel sort of more confident just in my life overall. We thought what better way to feel confident than to see if you could be a male stripper in Vegas.”

The film festival brings director Racheal Cain to Indianapolis for the first time. She is showing her movie “Somnium.”

In the film, a woman gets a job at an experimental sleep clinic with the same name, where dreams turn into reality.

The Austin, Texas native says it’s a fantastic chance to show off this story 12 years in the making.

“We actually shot the flashbacks in the movie five years before we shot the present-day scenes in L.A. There was this five-year gap where actors got a little older so they look younger in the flashback,” Cain said. “It was a journey. It was so hard. I mean, when you don’t have money, you got to do it all yourself. I think a lot of independent filmmakers understand that. It’s very exciting to finally be here showing people.”

For the second year in a row, MovieMaker Magazine named Heartland as one of the 25 coolest film festivals in the world. The industry publication also included it in its list of 50 festivals worth the entry fee for filmmakers.

Films can be seen at five venues; Kan-Kan Cinema and Restaurant, Landmark Glendale 12, Living Room Theaters, and Newfields in Indianapolis and Emagine Noblesville.

Tickets to the festival start at $12, and all-access passes are still available. For a list of films and their showtimes visit the Heartland International Film Festival website.