INDIANAPOLIS — The Heartland Film Festival opened Thursday with an emotional documentary about the life and legacy of two-time Indianapolis 500 champ Dan Wheldon.
"The Lionheart" not only tells Dan's story, but also shares how his sons, Sebastian and Oliver, are racing themselves.
You don't have to be a race fan to connect to Wheldon's story. "The Lionheart" shares his spirit, his charisma and universal themes of family, love and loss.
"Love, loss, grief and also just with me and my kids and how we have kind of had to pick up the pieces and move on," said Wheldon's widow, Susie. "And that's just something that I've always, you know, tried to instill in my boys that, you know, yes, we've had this tragic event happen in our lives ... but we can still make something good from it."
When a crash took Wheldon's life on the track in Las Vegas in 2011, his sons were just 2 years and 7 months old. In 2020, Oliver and Sebastian became part of the film about their dad's life and legacy. Susie said the timing just seemed right.
The documentary shares how the boys are working through grief by racing. It's part of what drew filmmaker Laura Brownson to the story.
"I am the mother of two boys who take risks that I don't necessarily approve of, nor feel comfortable with. And when I heard of the story of dad's passing, but then his kids following in his footsteps, I really was sort of intrigued by how does this happen," Brownson said
What she learned — and what we see in the film — is the way these kids feel closest to their dad is to do what he did: a legacy continued on the track.
"And you know, when you look at it in those terms, it's such a fascinating dilemma that she has every day, but it's so brave of her to let them let them do what they love and are so good at," Brownson said. "They are really good drivers."