The Microfilmmaker Community

[Kathy Birchall]

Doorpost Film Project Awards $10,000 to Top 15 Finalists

Second round of inaugural film contest underway: $10,000 awarded to top 15 filmmakers to produce final-round films

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (June 20, 2008) –-The Doorpost Film Project, a short filmmaking contest aimed at discovering and developing filmmakers capable of producing films that inspire and influence, rather than simply entertain, has announced the 15 highest-scoring finalists from round one. Each of these finalists has been given $10,000 to produce a final-round short film, (8-15 minutes) based on the designated topic of hope, with an August 15th deadline.

In round one, hopeful filmmakers tackled the topics of love, greed, redemption, pain, forgiveness, freedom and energy in non-genre specific shorts (under five minutes). Each submitted film went through a two-level judging process: online viewers and a panel of prominent film industry professionals.

The 15 finalists, title of film and hometown are as follows:

Luis DeLeon, Rendered, Brooklyn, NY
Debs Gardner-Paterson Aime, London, UK
Lev Goren, The Race, New York, NY
John Gray, Freedom to Live, Atlanta, GA
Jeff Guerrero, Therapy, Austin, TX
Erik Hollander, Big Ticket, Nashville, TN
Shalini Kanyayya, Vita's Garden, Brooklyn, NY
Mishka Kornai, 3187345, Palo Alto, CA
Mazia Lahooti, Sprawl, Perth, Australia
Tim Morgan, Repeat Off, Hogansville, GA
Ben Pierce, Still Alive, Rio Vista, CA
Jason Roberts, The Good Guy, Los Angeles, CA
Boris Schaarschmidt, Elenora, Los Angeles, CA
Bragi Schut, Scarecrow Joe, Los Angeles, CA
Kevin Will, Is This Blasphemy?, Santa Clarita, CA

"The shorts submitted in round one surpassed our expectations," said Nathan Elliott, director of the Project. "This is a globally, ethnically and racially diverse group of filmmakers that have one important thing in common: they're enormously talented. We're excited to see how their talent will manifest itself in the second round."

The 15 finalists' films will debut between August 17 and 31, with final round voting to occur September 1-10. The Film Project will culminate with a Festival in Nashville, Tenn. on September 13 with a showing of the selected films and an awards presentation. The Doorpost provides a grand prize totaling $100,000 and second and third place awards for $30,000 and $20,000, respectively. The $100,000 award will be given to the entrant who demonstrates unique promise as the most captivating, contemplative and visionary filmmaker of the future.

In addition to the $100,000 grand prize, the first place winner also receives scheduled private meetings in Los Angeles with development studios for prospective film deals. Each of the 15 finalists will receive a written critique of their film by the jurist panel.

About The Doorpost Film Project

The Doorpost Film Project, awaiting non-profit status, is an organization created to recognize, honor and equip emerging filmmakers whose works depict themes central to the core of life, its struggles and its ultimate purpose. The organization's supporters comprise a multitude of investors from numerous continents, backgrounds and careers, all dedicated to helping move filmmaking beyond entertainment to the realm of influence. For more information, please visit www.thedoorpost.com.
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Kathy Birchall
Account Coordinator
Seigenthaler Public Relations