— Ch. 1 · Origins And Development —
Born of Hope.
~4 min read · Ch. 1 of 6
Kate Madison held a vision for a Tolkien fan film in 2003. She wanted to submit work to the Tolkien Fan Film Exhibition that year. The project began as a modest plan but grew over time. By April 2006, the team conducted their first test shoot. Principal photography officially started in June 2008 and continued through 2009. Madison spent her life savings of £8,000 on the production. An online trailer campaign generated an extra £17,000. This brought the total budget to £25,000. The entire process took six years to complete. The goal was to debut at Ring*Con 2009 before being released online.
Production Logistics
Principal photography occurred across multiple locations in the United Kingdom. The bulk of filming happened at the West Stow Anglo-Saxon Village in Suffolk. Scenes also appeared in Epping Forest and Snowdonia National Park. Additional shooting took place inside Clearwell Caves and the Brecon Beacons. A cast of 400 people worked on the project. These actors camped in tents on set to accommodate early shooting schedules. Kate Madison directed the film while playing Elgarain herself. Christopher Dane served as Arathorn and contributed to editing the final product. Chris Bouchard from The Hunt for Gollum acted as camera operator and effects artist. The non-commercial nature of the film avoided legal conflict with commercial rights holders.Narrative Arc
Dirhael, his wife Ivorwen, and their daughter Gilraen fled an attack on their village. Orcs ambushed them on a forest road during the late Third Age. Rangers led by Arathorn saved the refugees from the ambush. They traveled to Taurdal, the village led by Arador. Arathorn and Gilraen fell in love while staying there. Arador sent Arathorn separately to determine the meaning behind the attacks. Arathorn discovered that Orcs were serving Sauron who sought the Ring of Barahir. Arathorn and Gilraen received Arador's blessing to be wed. Arador was summoned to Rivendell to seek Elrond's counsel before the wedding could happen. Arathorn eventually confronted Dirhael and received permission to marry his daughter. A year later, Arador was killed by a hill troll in the Coldfells. Gilraen gave birth to a son named Aragorn. Elladan and Elrohir arrived with news from Rivendell about danger threatening the region. Orcs attacked the village while they debated sending the child away. Many Rangers fell and Elgarain died defending Gilraen. Arathorn pursued stragglers but was mortally wounded himself.