It’s important for New Englanders to support their local filmmakers and artists in any way they can, and that opportunity has been given with The Waiting Room. Now available to view online, this short movie has been accepted as a “Merited Film” on The Doorpost Film Project, a website that hosts an international competition for films 7-minutes and under.

Centered on the chosen theme of Identity, The Waiting Room is about Carl, an older man in a hospice attempting to find closure for the mistakes of his past.  In his last moments, Carl finds an unexpected friend in his caregiver, who himself is coming to terms with his own future.

The filmmakers who collaborated on The Waiting Room are director Mark Childers of Pburnt Productions, producer Steve Sherrick of Obscure Knowledge Productions, and director of photography Ken Willinger of Ken Willinger Productions.  Their hard work and dedication to the process is apparent in the quality of the 7-minute short.  In front of the camera, the team was lucky enough to get Armen Garo, a Providence, RI actor whose credits include a role on “The Sopranos.”  Garo plays the caregiver, the lead actor in the film.

According to their website, The Doorpost Film Project is “an online community of filmmakers, an annual short film competition and a platform for investigating truth.”  They have several broad themes that the short films can focus on, which change annually.  The themes this year are: Authenticity, Commitment, Truth, Community, Sacrifice, Hope, and of course Identity.

Acceptance to the next level will be determined by a panel of professionals, although the one film that has the most viewer votes will automatically go forward in the competition.  This is where the filmmakers need your help.

20 films will make that next level, 5 of which will end up qualifying for $40,000 funding for their subsequent film, as well as competing for the hefty grand prize of $100,000.  The filmmakers associated with The Waiting Room consider themselves honored to have even made it to this stage, considering the level of their competition in this renowned international project.

“We discussed the idea of putting a team together to try to make a film for the next competition,” said Ken Willinger regarding the group’s collaboration.  “Because of the level of quality involved in the films we saw on the site, we realized we would have to be meticulous about how we go about making this short and it was important that we put together a team we knew and trusted.”

The group of filmmakers assembled couldn’t have worked together better to create such a polished final product, and the performances from its cast are first-rate.

Willinger went on to say, “We had several meetings on finding the right story and topic to pursue, each of us submitting ideas and then sending all the ideas out to those on the email list and voting anonymously for favorites. When we finally agreed on a story idea, it was given to Mike Amato to write the script.”

And it’s quite a story indeed, with a powerful ending that surprises most viewers.  To be able to get credit for viewing and have the ability to vote, you need to log in at The Doorpost Film Project’s website.   Whether or not this film moves ahead in the competition might be up to you, so don’t spend any more time waiting and go to The Doorpost Film Project to vote by March 15th for The Waiting Room.  “The Waiting Room” film itself can be viewed by clicking here.