News from the filmmaking front-line, Tuesday, May 15: "Filming began Saturday, May 12, near Greeley and continued today in Colorado Springs. We will be filming around the state until June 1."

OK, that's not nearly as exciting to read as taking a photo tour of Menschen's Facebook page and seeing big explosions in the production stills.

You know, stuff like this:

• Mark Mook
• It's cameras vs. guns on the Menschen movie set.

If you're new to the film, we've been tracking it through its casting and fundraising phases, and now into the good stuff — the actual production.

Filmmaker Sarah Lotfi raised $5,585 through her Indiegogo campaign and that was apparently enough to get going, though a link on the film's home page still seeks tax-deductible donations toward a $30,000 goal to help pay for pyrotechnics, ammunition blanks, crew meals and much more.

Take another look at the authentic costuming and equipping of the actors:

• Alexis Evelyn
• With a tight production schedule, there's little time to sit around on the Menschen set.

Considering how our community and many outsiders rallied to help raise $70,151 for Creep! to move forward, it's certainly not unrealistic to think we could dig a little deeper to make sure Menschen gets to the festival circuit on time.

I know one person who'd really be thankful:

• Alexis Evelyn
• Sarah Lotfi on set, probably trying to be heard over the gunfire and pyrotechnics.

With under two days to go, Creep! has reached $61,984 of its $65,000 goal.

So if you were hoping to play the hero role and step in at the last minute with a fat pledge, um ... now would be the time.

Menschen looks to have timed out at $5,585 of its $9,658 goal.

And Harmless has five days of fundraising left ahead of it. It's currently at $486 toward its $12,500 goal.

——- ORIGINAL POST, 4:14 P.M., TUESDAY, MAY 1 ——-

Aside from all having one-word titles, the following three films have a couple things in common: They're being launched out of Colorado Springs, and currently are in the fundraising phase.

Two we've already checked in on, and may be familiar to you by now; the third is something we just learned of a couple weeks ago.

Let's start with Creep!, the most ambitious and costly of the three, which we've covered extensively dating back to Jill Thomas' cover story in June 2010.

Its Kickstarter campaign began in mid-March, and after a generous, recent $10,000 donation, the project currently sits at $22,799 raised toward its $65,000 goal, with 10 days to go to lock down the pledge money.

Now onto Menschen, which we last updated here.

Currently, the project's Indiegogo page sits at $1,730, with $9,658 left to raise in the next five days.

Lastly, meet the "faith-based horror film about pornography" (only in Colorado Springs ...) called Harmless.

It's also running a Kickstarter campaign, and sits at $225 of a $12,500 goal with 14 days left to fundraise.

Since we haven't previously talked about this film, you may want to check out its trailer here:

Assuaging worries of skin in an anti-porn movie, the filmmakers say the following in their press release: “We had to be very created [sic] on how we portrayed the pornography in the film. We couldn’t just show images of magazines and video. We took a page from the Steven Spielberg school and didn’t show the monster, just eluded [sic] to it like in Jaws.”

So now that you're aware of the calls for help from our local film community, take a moment to check out each page and decide if there's a film (or three) that you care to get behind. The monster, soldiers and conservatives thank you.

Following up on our coverage of this past weekend's Indie Spirit Film Festival, in which we chatted up organizer Jim Turner, reviewed a handful of films and interviewed Oscar winner Daniel Junge, here are a few post-show notes.

Firstly, I attended the screening of Junge's documentary, Saving Face, and I found it every bit as moving and powerful as its Academy Award suggests.

• Matthew Schniper
• Kimball Bayles (left) told festival guests that when Daniel Junge worked for him as a senior at Colorado College, he screened one of Junge's student films, and became close friends with the young filmmaker.

During his Q&A afterward, Junge, in discussing the film's impact thus far, noted how co-director Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy just earned a spot on Time Magazine's 100 Most Influential People in the World list.

Junge also shared something that didn't come up during my earlier Q&A with him that I found to be a pretty powerful statement.

In discussing the mental toll of making a film like this, getting face-to-face with the afflicted and witnessing such sad stories, Junge said, "You have to anesthetize yourself to some degree. You have to switch off. In the edit room later, that's where you get emotionally struck."

After a decade of making social-justice films, Junge says he's ready for an emotional break to work on upcoming documentaries about LEGO and Evel Knievel.

• Matthew Schniper
• Another Indie Spirit Fest floats by, but not without reminding us how great of a cinematic event it is.

Elsewhere in festival news, here's a list of this year's Indie Spirit award-winning films.

For my part, I was excited to see such quality films screening here, a testament to the fest's growing success. And the list of professional filmmakers it attracted should also be appreciated. It's not often in Colorado Springs that I can go from chatting up an Oscar winner to meeting a number of actors and actresses — hell, even the guy who edited Sacha Baron Cohen's Bruno and upcoming The Dictator.

We told you about Sarah Lotfi's latest film project, Menschen, here back in early February.

And now that the casting call has been answered, Lotfi has entered her fundraising phase.

• Filmmakers like Sarah Lotfi will crawl around in the dirt in service to their art, and are equally devoted to crawl through the muck of fundraising.

Lotfi has until Sunday, May 6 to raise $9,658 toward her goal.

Watch this four-and-a-half-minute video on the project, which ensures your money well spent:

So we've already told you about the accomplishments of a few Colorado College grads recently in the film world.

Marc Webb for the upcoming The Amazing Spider-Man release.

Daniel Junge for Saving Face (playing at this year's Indie Spirit Film Festival).

Kaui Hart Hemmings for The Descendants.

Now, on Monday, Colorado College recognized 2001 graduate Cynthia Lowen, who co-wrote and produced Bully, which opens locally next week. (Disclosure: I graduated with Lowen in the class of ’01.)

• Bullying, at its worst, can have fatal consequences, as documented in the film Bully.

We'll have an interview with Lowen for you along with a full review of Bully in next week's Indy.

We'll also check in with Marc Webb ahead of Spidey's release on July 3, so stay tuned.

And congrats again to all these talented writers, directors and producers for their respective works — CC is no doubt honored by their accomplishments.

From the listings desk: There are probably three people on Earth not caught up in The Hunger Games right now (myself included), so these two tidbits are for them. OK, and you HG folks, too.

Starting next week, the German language students at Colorado College will host a film series based on the topic of LGBT issues in German cinema. Explanations before the films will be given in English, and there'll be English subtitles in the films. According to an email from lecturer and supervisor Heinz Geppert:

"A group of interested students decided to view and discuss four gay-themed German films from different decades to get an impression about changes in German society (if any) towards gay men as reflected in some of the films. The infamous Paragraph 175 (which made any form of homosexuality punishable by law [which] was not fully lifted until 1968) and some students were interested in the 'before' and 'after' lifting of that law and how some films (and audiences) reacted to that."

Starting at 7 p.m., Tuesday, March 27, the students will screen Anders als die Anderen (Different from the Others), a silent film from 1919. On Tuesday, April 3, they will screen Anders als Du und Ich (Different from You and Me, or Bewildered Youth), from 1957 and directed by Veit Harlan, "director of the infamous anti-Semitic hate film Jew Süss from 1940," says Geppert. "As to be expected, homosexuality was demonized in that film, it was the 'family values' time of the Adenauer years those had no place for any minorities."

• jackpickfordisaluteyou.blogspot.com
• Anders als die Anderen

• jackpickfordisaluteyou.blogspot.com
• Anders als die Anderen

The other two films have not been decided, but will take place April 10 and 17. All will screen in the Max Kade Theatre, on the third floor of Armstrong Hall (14 E. Cache la Poudre St.).

In other film news, the lineup for the Rocky Mountain Women's Film Festival Night of Award-Winning Shorts has been released. The nine films include two set in Ireland, Pentecost and The Shore; a couple about relationships, The Screamers and Two's a Crowd; and The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore, this year's Oscar winner for best animated short. Find more information here, and a list of the rest of the films after the jump.

The screenings will take place at 7:30 p.m., Saturday, April 7, at Stargazers Theatre and Event Center (10 S. Parkside Drive). Tickets (available here) are $25 and benefit the RMWFF.

Creep!'s Kickstarter campaign has begun, with a launch party last night at the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center.

Take a look at this quick SLIDESHOW for pics of the filmmaker and producer, carpet monster, some of the film's actors and community members who showed up in support.

• Matthew Schniper
• The carpet monster, in all its intentionally craptastic glory.

The reason that number is a little higher than what you'll see now on Kickstarter's pledge page, is that it accounts for non-Kickstarter donations and T-shirt buys as well.

Only around $63,000 to go ... let's make it happen, people. And just maybe we can put Colorado Springs on the map in the filmmaking community.

—— UPDATE, TUESDAY, MARCH 13, 10:18 A.M. ——

A final teaser ahead of tomorrow's Creep! fundraiser: we've received a sneak peek of the carpet monster cupcakes that will be provided by newbie Springs business Cake Crumbs.

Take a look at how the beast has come alive in icing form:

• Matthew Schniper
• Oh the horror! No, not the yellow one, fool. The green icing, made to look like cheap carpet scraps, plus a little pink swirl for the, um, eating orifice.

Good news: The cupcakes do not taste like the digested leftovers of a multitude of screaming B-movie actresses. They're much sugarier.

——UPDATE: 4:50 P.M., THURSDAY, MARCH 8 ——

I just found out some more info on the March 14 FAC event, and by that I mean I came across an email sent to me on Tuesday.

The key points: Ladies need not attempt their own beehives, as there will be a "hairdo station" available courtesy Stellar Styles Salon & Spa.

The Kickstarter campaign hopes to raise $65,000, which is the remainder of the $185,000 budget, according to the press release.

The film's trailer will also be screened and Schuermann will take questions.

Oh — and Bristol Brewing Co.'s Beehive Honey Wheat will be available along with Creep!-inspired Cake Crumbs cupcakes.

——ORIGINAL POST, 4:50 P.M., THURSDAY, MARCH 8 ——

It's a movie whose making has crawled along as slowly and deliberately as a terrifying monster in a B movie.

Fitting. After all, we're talking about Creep!, which we've been tracking here since June 2010.

Well, the latest update is that Pete Schuermann, Kevin Beechwood and crew are now onto the fundraising phase in which they've opted to enlist the help of Kickstarter.

As of March 13, you'll be able to donate money to the project here, and in return receive gifts ranging from postcards and T-shirts to the right to appear in the film (being eaten by the Creeping Terror monster).

And on Wednesday, March 14, from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. at the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center, you can attend Creep! with Cocktails & Cinema.

There, you can meet Schuermann, view the "carpet monster" up close (no, you can't get eaten by it until you produce some cash) and be party to some fundraising speechifyin'.

Apparently, beehive hairdos will be present (ladies, attempt your own) in tribute to the drive-in movie era, so there's that, too.

• Brienne Boortz
• Take your own walk in the park with the Creeping Terror monster on March 14.

A couple weeks ago, we told you about a couple of upcoming local casting calls, for Lone Ranger and Menschen.

We've since heard about a third audition to take place soon, this time for the feature-length film Dutchman's Run.

The filmmakers are seeking people for around 25 supporting roles. All the details are inside this press release: CO_Casting_Call_2.23.12.pdf

And switching focus to a film that's already made, and showing tonight at 6 and 8 for free: Catch Revenge of the Electric Car courtesy the Independent Film Society of Colorado in Colorado College's Cornerstone Screening Room (825 N. Cascade Ave.).

Here's a little info on it courtesy a release:

In Revenge of the Electric Car, director Chris Paine takes his film crew behind the closed doors of Nissan, GM, and the Silicon Valley start-up Tesla Motors to chronicle the story of the global resurgence of electric cars. Without using a single drop of foreign oil, this new generation of car is America's future: fast, furious, and cleaner than ever.
With almost every major car maker now jumping to produce new electric models, Revenge follows the race to be the first, the best, and to win the hearts and minds of the public around the world. It's not just the next generation of green cars that's on the line. It's the future of the automobile itself.
Revenge of the Electric Car is narrated by Tim Robbins. The primary cast includes CEO and President of Renault and Nissan Carlos Ghosn; CEO of Tesla Motors Elon Musk; former Vice Chairman of GM Bob Lutz, and EV do-it-yourselfer Greg "Gadget" Abbott.

Congratulations to Daniel Junge (and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy) on their Oscar win last night for Saving Face.

—— ORIGINAL POST, 3:45 P.M., TUESDAY, JAN. 24 ——

Some good news for Colorado College alum Daniel Junge.

His first was in 2009 for the short film The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner.

This nod is for Saving Face, which as this Denver Post article explains, is another short film, this time about the survivors of acid attacks (women burned by their husbands) in Pakistan.

According to the Post, the film will screen on HBO sometime in March.

Here's some more info from the Saving Face website:

Every year in Pakistan, there are at least 100 people attacked with acid — the majority women. Many more go unreported. The new documentary SAVING FACE is the story of two survivors of such attacks — their battle for justice and their journey of healing.

Zakia is a 39-year old woman who had acid thrown on her by her husband after filing for divorce. She vows to find justice and restore her face to some normality.

Rukhsana is a 23-year old woman who was attacked by her husband and in-laws and forced to reconcile with them.

Plastic surgeon Dr. Mohammad Jawad — who earned prominence for restoring the face of British model Katie Piper after an acid attack — has left the comfort of his London practice to return to his home country of Pakistan and help the victims of such attacks.

SAVING FACE is a new documentary following their personal stories and that of the nation of Pakistan coming attempting to tackle this vexing social problem.

Directed by Oscar and Emmy nominated filmmaker Daniel Junge and Emmy winning Pakistan director Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy.

Back in the beginning of 2010, reporter Anthony Lane and I profiled James Balog, whose study of receding glaciers through photography and years-long time-lapse videos of melting ice has made Balog a leading voice on climate change.

• Extreme Ice Survey

Balog and his team's Extreme Ice Survey are also the topic of the 2012 documentary Chasing Ice, which won an award at the recent Sundance Film Festival and was just announced the winner of the feature film competition at the Big Sky Documentary Film Festival (which at nine years old claims to be the "largest cinema event in Montana").

We heard about the honor in this blog post from Skylar Browning of the Missoula Independent, the paper which reprinted our original story. Congratulations to Balog and crew.