| Born of Hope | |
|---|---|
 Poster for the film | |
| Directed by | Kate Madison |
| Written by | Christopher Dane Kate Madison Matt Wood |
| Screenplay by | Paula DiSante (as Alex K. Aldridge) |
| Based on | The Lord of the Rings byJ. R. R. Tolkien |
| Produced by | Kate Madison |
| Starring | Christopher Dane Beth Aynsley Danny George Kate Madison Andrew McDonald Philippa Hammond Iain Marshall Howard Corlett |
| Cinematography | Neill Phillips |
| Edited by | Christopher Dane Kate Madison |
| Music by | Tobias Bublat Adam Langston Jacob Shelby Kevin Webster Rob Westwood Peter Bateman Arjan Kiel Toby and Cody McClure Martin Westlake |
Production company | Actors at Work Productions |
Release date |
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Running time | 71 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Budget | £25,000[1] |
Born of Hope: The Ring of Barahir (often referred to as simplyBorn of Hope) is a 2009 Britishfantasyadventurefan film directed byKate Madison and written by Paula DiSante (as Alex K. Aldridge) based on theappendices ofJ. R. R. Tolkien's 1954–55 novelThe Lord of the Rings. The film centres on the communities affected bySauron's war;[2] theDúnedain bloodline; and the story ofArathorn II and his relationship with Gilraen as they would be the parents ofAragorn, who became a key leader against Sauron.
The bulk of the film was shot at theWest Stow Anglo-Saxon Village inSuffolk. Scenes were shot inEpping Forest,[3]Snowdonia National Park,Clearwell Caves and theBrecon Beacons.
It debuted at Ring*Con 2009 before being streamed for free onDailyMotion, and later onYouTube.
In the lateThird Age,Sauron's power is increasing, and he has sent hisOrcs to seek out the remnants of the bloodline ofElendil, kept alive in theDúnedain. Dirhael, his wife Ivorwen and their daughter Gilraen are fleeing from an attack on their village when they are ambushed by Orcs on a forest road, and saved by a group of rangers led by Arathorn. Not having any place safer to go, the refugees go with Arathorn to Taurdal, the village led by his father and Chieftain of the Dúnedain,Arador. While there, Arathorn and Arador ponder the orcs' motives after finding various looted rings on their bodies. During her stay in Taurdal, Gilraen falls in love with Arathorn.
In light of the attacks on surrounding settlements, Arador leads his forces on a campaign against the Orcs in the area in an attempt to restore peace to the region. Meanwhile, he sends Arathorn separately in an attempt to determine the meaning behind the attacks. Both are successful, and Arathorn discovers the Orcs are serving Sauron, who seeks theRing of Barahir. Arathorn and Gilraen receive Arador's blessing to be wed, but Arathorn cannot summon the courage to ask Dirhael for his daughter's hand. Arador is summoned toRivendell to seek Elrond's counsel, and the wedding is postponed until his return. Arathorn eventually confronts Dirhael, and receives permission to marry his daughter. Arathorn and Gilraen are married.
A year later, Arador is killed by a hilltroll in theColdfells, making Arathorn the chieftain of the Dúnedain. Gilraen becomes pregnant and gives birth to a son,Aragorn. Taurdal knows peace for a while, untilElladan and Elrohir come with news from Rivendell.Elrond has sensed that danger is once again threatening the region, and they request that Gilraen and Aragorn be brought back to Rivendell for safekeeping, as is the tradition with all Dúnedain heirs to thechiefdom. Before Arathorn and Gilraen can come to a decision, Orcs attack the village. They are beaten off; however, many Rangers fall, and Arathorn's closest friend, Elgarain, is mortally wounded while defending Gilraen. Arathorn then leads the remaining Rangers in pursuit of the stragglers. They are successful, but Arathorn is mortally wounded in the process. Without a chieftain capable of leading them, the Dúnedain abandon Taurdal and go into hiding in small secret settlements in the forests of Rhudaur, while the Elven twins, Elladan and Elrohir, bring Aragorn with his mother Gilraen to Rivendell, and safety.
*Original characters created for the film.
The idea for the film was born in 2003 when director/producer/actor Kate Madison wanted to submit a film for the Tolkien Fan Film Exhibition. Originally a modest plan, it grew until April 2006 when the first test shoot occurred. Principal photography started in June 2008, and continued through 2009. The goal was to debut at Ring*Con 2009, which it did. It was later streamed for free on various video websites includingDailyMotion andYouTube. The film had to be non-commercial to avoid legal conflict with the commercial rights holders.[6]
Madison spent her life savings of £8,000 on the film. An extra £17,000 was generated by posting a trailer online, raising the budget to £25,000.Born of Hope was made over a period of six years, using a cast of 400, who would camp in tents so as to be able to shoot early.[7]
Christopher Dane (Arathorn) ended up getting very involved in the process of making the film, contributing to the script as well as handling the editing of the final product. Kate Madison, who directed and produced the film, was cast as Elgarain as well, giving her a heavy workload during the shooting.[5]
Chris Bouchard ofThe Hunt for Gollum[8] contributed to the production of the film as a camera operator and effects artist.
Wendy Ide, writing forThe Times, gave the film a positive review. She awarded it 4 stars out of 5, calling it a "near note-perfect homage to Jackson’s vision for the Rings". She also noted that the film is "very well cast" and that "practically all the performances have a skill level far above that which is usually evident inlow-budget cinema".[1]
Tom Lamont, writing inThe Observer, stated thatBorn of Hope was the most credible adaptation among the many fan films based onThe Lord of the Rings. He agreed with a reviewer in another newspaper who had written "Every shot of this film was made with love, and it shows".[9] He admired the "stirring" original music for orchestra, and noted that in March 2010, the film had reached almost a million hits at onlinestreaming media.[9]
TheTolkien scholarRobin Anne Reid noted thatBorn of Hope was unusual among fan films in including more than "one or two women". She states also that the film focuses on a story barely present inThe Lord of the Rings, in a process that the scholar Henry Jenkins called "refocalization". She states that this allows attention to be directed to "minor or underused characters", or to romantic relationships.[2]
Born of Hope won the 2010London Independent Film Festival in the category "Best Micro-Budget Feature".[10]
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