The Doorpost Project is the best online film competition out there. I realize that might not be saying much as the web is lousy with short film competitions. And I understand why; it’s a very low cost way for a site or a company to create some PR, and in the overall scheme, a minor line item in a most corporation’s massive marketing budget. Nobody gets what they want though. The filmmakers get a bit of cash, but the audience is negligible. The companies think they’re getting some bonus points with a hip demographic, but I doubt it really helps their longterm market share. So I wish most would just stop, I hate watching the results. The companies half-ass it, and so it comes as no surprise when they get half-assed results.  Really, I don’t want to watch a film “inspired” by somebody’s Sprint Evo 4G phone.

It is the misplacing of priorities by the competition that makes The Doorpost Project such a refreshing change of pace. As a non-profit it has no ulterior motive, its mission is to place the filmmaker front and center and enable them to create great work. The four finalists you’ll see here were directly funded by the organization, to the tune of $40,000 each. Thus the Doorpost is not simply an online film festival, judging films and handing out prizes—but a huge running film workshop, empowering and supporting filmmakers to create their next, biggest film yet.

These finalist films are the result of a yearlong process. The contest comprised of 3 rounds. The initial entry requirements were very easy, submit a short film that touched on one of seven broad emotions the Doorpost delineates. Out of the hundreds of entries 21 were chosen for a short list. The 21 short-listed filmmakers wrote a new spec script on a different emotion than their entry film and of those scripts, 4 were chosen to be produced and completed, representing these finalists. Community voting will decide the winner, so if you’re interested watch below and send in a vote. Last year’s winner The Butterfly Circus, won a $100,000 grand prize.

I will warn that the films are long, all but one top 20 minutes. Also, while matching their national film-board funded, and Sundance-accepted peers in production quality, Doorpost Films have a recognizably different feel. They aren’t ironic for one. These are generally serious films that wear their heart on their sleeves. The festival’s mission is labeled Seek/Honor/Serve/Build/Share, and whether this idealistic message attracts a particular type of filmmaker, or the festival itself filters the entries seeking out a particular type of film, Doorpost entries tend to be very blatant in delivering an uplifting message—evincing a level of sincerity and schmaltz that is actually pretty rare in short film. For many tastes this can be considered corny, but its good to have diversity in the world. Water, posted last week, I think provides a really interesting contrast between say a Sundance dramatic short versus these Doorpost Finalists.

With that said, this year’s contenders:

***

The Candy Shop: 30 min/ dir. Brandon McCormick—Mr. McCormick, operating out Georgia, is a filmmaker we’ve come to love—his melodramatic musical That’s Magic was one of our favorites of 2009. This film is explicitly advertised as a fairy tale about child sex trafficking. The metaphor is very blatant, but allows for a more palatable depiction of the menace. Jimmy is a paper boy operating across the street from The Candy Shop, a place where lost little girls get literally made into candy. The production design of this film is splendid, as is the look and makeup of the creepy Candy shop owner, however some weak performances keep it from being an unqualified success.

Eyes that Can See: 30 min/ dir: David DeVos—A story of a news videographer in Haiti after the earthquake devastation. Jaded, thinking only about his craft at the expense of compassion to those he sees and towards his family at home, he has a reevaluation of his life when he finds himself buried under rubble. Again, beautiful cinematography and set design, but sometimes corny dialogue. Definitely hints of the “magical negro” in the portrayal of a Haitian woman, buried with our protagonist, who helps him change his life.

Good Pretender: 15 min/ dir: Maziar Lahooti—A young girl quarrels with her dad, who likes to drink and watch sports at the bar, dumping her in the rec room with nothing to do but obsessively watch Terminator 2. Things take an interesting and perhaps dangerous turn when she pretends to a group of boys that her dad is, like Arnie, a machine. This is the most succinct, and honest-feeling of the shorts, but it is flat visually, and is directed without flair.

The Man Who Never Cried: 24 min/ dir: Bradley Jackson—Ralp is a grown man who has never cried. He isn’t as pathological as you might suspect, indeed he is fairly normal aside from his career choice of clown, but we come to see that this has been a source of great consternation for our protagonist. Can he learn to cry? The film is the funniest of 4 by far, with the best dialogue, and some interesting background sequences, however whether the progression our protagonist makes is worth the build-up is debatable.