In "Miracle on E. 9th Street," Santa manages to make a lot of Cleveland kids' Christmas wishes come true -- the Indians win the World Series. "Cleveland Holiday Spirit" shows us a young man who is about to propose to his girlfriend but mistakenly leaves the ring in the pocket of a coat he'd given to a homeless man.

The People's Choice winner, voted on by Cleveland.com readers, was "One City, Many Languages, One Message," which showed Clevelanders from various cultures saying holiday messages in their native languages. It was produced by the Bruno Tatalovic, professor of journalism and mass media at Cuyahoga Community College; Susan Lohwater, professor of English at Tri-C; and the International Club of Cuyahoga Community College. The film was even screened by the request of Mayor Frank Jackson at the Global Urban Fusion event at City Hall this week.

People's Choice Award:

The rest of the 32 videos proved that Clevelanders have big hearts, tough hides and long sports memories. Among the entries were odes to Christmas ale, old family videos and travelogues of Cleveland landmarks bedecked for the holidays.

The Food Fairy shopped and cooked in a sequined Santa hat. A mom and daughter, surrounded by their three dogs, sang about the joys of moving from Texas back home to Northeast Ohio. And there's no need for a stimulus bill when friends and family rally to provide holiday cheer to an unemployed guy.

The contest was sponsored by The Plain Dealer, cleveland.com, the Cleveland Indians, Cleveland Cinemas and Positively Cleveland; each organization was asked to provide a judge. Videos had to be 60 seconds or less, and be about Cleveland and the holidays.

"They are so upbeat," said Dennis Roche, a contest judge and president of Positively Cleveland, the convention and visitors bureau for Cuyahoga County. "It's a great way to get people engaged."

The winning movie will be presented on the scoreboard at Progressive Field on New Year's Eve before the grand fireworks display. The winner will also receive a party for 10 for New Year's Eve at Cleveland Indians Snow Days, including tubing, skating, food and beverages; and 10 movie tickets from Cleveland Cinemas.

The runners-up and People's Choice Award winners will receive DVDs and movie tickets.

MORE VIDEOS

Check out the other entries in The Plain Dealer Cleveland Holiday Movie Contest:

"We were really excited," Klein said about his reaction when he learned that "Cleveland -- It's a Wonderful Life" was the top winner.

"We came up with the idea while sitting around the dinner table," Klein said in an e-mail. "I suggested that we do a parody of the classic Christmas movie 'It's a Wonderful Life.' My family quickly added suggestions and perfected the idea."

The family spent a day shooting images of Klein joyously running past PlayhouseSquare, the West Side Market, Terminal Tower and other landmarks. Dad Kenneth Klein, 55, and sisters Allison, 21, and Mikaela, 14, all of Burton, helped with the camera and lighting.

"We all had a lot of fun making the video, and I was able to see more of Cleveland than ever before," Klein said.

Klein, a computer technician at Main Street Computers in Chardon, makes videos as a hobby and has posted several on his YouTube channel and on his website, getthepix.org.

The director of the runner-up video "Cleveland Holiday Spirit" did not respond to e-mails in time to be included in this story.

Gillespie and Bates, 48, the brains behind "Miracle on E. 9th Street," knew that Santa would be a key character and were thrilled to find Dennis Sedlak, 58, of Avon. The kids in the cast, who ask Santa for a World Series win, were family and friends, Gillespie said.

"We wanted to play on every Clevelander's hope for a winning sports franchise," said Gillespie, 49, in an e-mail.

Roche said he liked the message of "Miracle on E. 9th Street."

"Lord knows it has a great sense of timing," Roche said. "I liked it because it was so upbeat, and sports are such a big deal in Cleveland."