Festival born of common passion

   When Matt Stevens and Jim Turner decided to start their own film festival, the plan was to start small. They sent out a solicitation for independent films, thinking they'd get maybe 50 to choose from.

   Instead, they received 345 shorts, features, documentaries and films that defy categorization. Like two kids in a candy store, it was tough to say no with so many sweets sent their way.

   So, beginning Friday, what was supposed to be a small, fun festival will now be the Indie Spirit Film Festival - the biggest film festival in Colorado Springs, with more than 80 films showing at seven venues around town - and will draw more than 25 directors from as far away as Portugal to talk about their films.

   Unlike the Springs' other two festivals - the Rocky Mountain Women's Film Festival and the Lavender Film Festival - Indie Spirit has no theme or mission beyond finding great flicks and letting people see them, Stevens said.

   "Our essential theme is, if it's good, we'll play it,"he said. "If it interests us, it will interest Colorado Springs as well. We hope."

   Linda Broker, director of the Rocky Mountain Women's Film Festival, said she applauds Stevens and Turner's ambition and hopes the Springs supports the new festival. "I'm totally impressed with what they've undertaken," she said. "The more successful film festivals we have, I think fuels people's interest in this sort of event."

   A few weeks ago, Broker attended the Boulder Film Festival, a relatively new festival. "They've only been around four years and they sold 12,000 tickets," she said. "Colorado Springs ought to be able to do the same."

   Stevens and Turner are unlikely partners. Stevens is the 23-year-old general manager at Kimball's Twin Peak Theater, where he's worked since he was 17. Turner is a 41-year-old who retired from the Army three years ago and is now a civilian defense contractor at Peterson Air Force Base.

   Each had a longtime desire to start a film festival. At last year's Rocky Mountain Women's Film Festival, Turner asked Helen Upton, one of the organizers, if she knew of anyone interested in starting another festival. She told him to contact Stevens, and the two were soon awash in submissions.

   Turner volunteers at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, and the CineVegas festival in Las Vegas. Hosting a festival is a great way to bring people out, get them walking around downtown and help build a sense of community, he said.

   "I've been around the film-festival environment a little bit," Turner said. "I thought, ‘This is nice, it brings some good people out, and we don't have anything like that in Colorado Springs, and we could.'"

   A film festival, Broker said, is a cohesive experience, not just a series of individual films. "For me, spending two days hopping around from venue to venue, I love it," she said. "You see some great films and you see some you wonder why they bothered. It's as much about the event as it is about the individual films."

   Stevens and Turner didn't intend the Indie Spirit festival to be strictly local or feature only Colorado filmmakers, but some strong local ties popped up by happenstance. Two features, "Everyone But You," about a Denver musician who moves to Alamosa to build his dream house, and "The Bilbee Boys," by Colorado Springs director and writer Matthew Nelson, had obvious ties.

   But Stevens and Turner selected the "300" spoof "305" without knowing that the film's directors and writers, brothers Dave and Dan Holecheck, were Air Academy High School graduates. And they had no idea that Kenyan director James Nardella - whose shorts "Being Darmaris" and "Dreams to be Obama" are in the festival - had in-laws living in the Springs. "The Hunt for the Texas 7" is a British documentary on the American justice system - although one with an obvious local tie. Chase Masterson, the star and producer of "Yesterday Was a Lie," was born in the Springs.

   Now, the venues are set, the films are ready, the directors are on their way. All that's left is to see how dedicated the film community in Colorado Springs is.

   "I really hope the Colorado Springs community gets onboard with this," Stevens said. "You start big, it can only grow bigger.

That's what I keep saying to myself, fingers crossed."

   CONTACT THE WRITER: 636-0275 or awineke@gazette.com

INDIE SPIRIT FILM FESTIVAL

When: Friday through Sunday

Where: Kimball's Twin Peak Theater, Edifice Gallery, Poor Richards Bookstore, Antlers Hilton's Learning Center, Antlers Hilton's Carson room, Pikes Peak Center, PPC's Studio Bee

Tickets: Individual tickets, $10. Passes, $40 (Saturday and Sunday), $50 (Friday-Sunday), $100 (VIP, with access to the filmmaker's lounge); 576-2626.

Information: indiespiritfilmfestival.org Also: Look for a complete schedule and filmmaker interview in Friday's GO! section.