COLRAIN — This small town’s population grew considerably Thursday as dozens of people working with a Vermont-based production company visited to film scenes for “Lost Nation,” a feature film set in Vermont during the American Revolution.
Kingdom County Productions had cast and crew members scattered around the Pitt House property at 8 Main Road, with everyone doing their part and carrying out any of the myriad tasks that come with making a movie.
“This little collection of old buildings, which we discovered sort of by chance, is perfect for us to represent the little village of Guilford,” Director Jay Craven said Thursday afternoon under a mostly blue sky, adding that buildings serve as a general store, blacksmith shop and a storage shed for firefighting equipment. “It’s a very ambitious script. … Redesigning an empty space to be a store is a big deal, so we’re a little bit later in the day getting our first shots than we initially hoped. But we’re now about to get our first shot, and so we’re pleased about that.”
“Lost Nation” consists of two Vermont storylines, though they seldom converge. One storyline is that of Ethan Allen, a founder of the Vermont Republic who headed the Green Mountain Boys, a militia that captured Fort Ticonderoga in New York during the Revolutionary War. The other centers on Lucy Terry Prince, credited as the first known African American poet in English literature after her husband, Abijah, bought her freedom from enslavement in Deerfield. The two endured racism from their white neighbors, particularly John Noyes, who regularly harassed them and vandalized their property.
Craven, who wrote the script with co-producer Elena Greenlee, explained the scene the crew was working on Thursday involved Ira Allen (played by Ryan Bourque), brother of Ethan Allen, visiting a general store to “shake some hands and advance his political agenda.” At this time in history, Vermont was contested territory between New York and New Hampshire. Craven said the eastern side and the mountainous region, especially southeastern Vermont, tended to be pro-New York, while other sections sided with New Hampshire. So, most in Guilford were opposed to Allen’s agenda.
The rustic barns and sheds stand in stark contrast to the cameras, power tools and other equipment that dotted the property on Thursday. Filming at the Pitt House is perhaps fitting, as it is the Colrain Historical Society’s headquarters.
Cast and crew members spent time standing mostly in small clusters, chatting and munching on snacks. Craven said the film is now in its final two weeks of production, having just wrapped up in Nantucket. The director said “Lost Nation” will be available in theaters and via streaming by June 2023. Viewers may also notice the scenery of Leyden, as well as Marlboro, Vermont.
“We did some scouting. You know, we wanted to be as close to the border as possible,” Craven said, adding that he was in Leyden about a decade ago to shoot scenes for the film “Northern Borders,” starring Bruce Dern. “I became familiar with this part of Massachusetts then, and we did a little more driving around. And there are a lot of great spots. We’re limited because in film … once you choose a location, you like to do as much as possible there.”
Kingdom County Productions will be back in Leyden on Tuesday, April 19.
The cast and crew are staying on the Marlboro College campus, which closed in the spring of 2020. Craven said he taught there for 20 years, “so it’s sort of home turf for me.”
Jennifer Latham, working on this film as the production company’s Vermont unit producer, previously said the project has the assistance of 46 college students involved with Semester Cinema, an accredited semester-long study-away program that immerses students in every aspect of filmmaking. Many of the students walked around set Thursday wearing T-shirts featuring their colleges’ names.
One of the students was 20-year-old Karma Bridges, who plays Lucy Terry Prince’s daughter, Drucilla Prince.
“Things have been going great,” she said, dressed in her Colonial attire. “Today has been great. We are like five weeks in, so I know my (script) family, I know the people around me, so I feel like when I wake up in the morning, I know what I’m going to do. I feel prepared. I feel excited for the day.”
Bridges, a sophomore, is a documentary film major at Spelman College in her native Atlanta.
“I’m having a great time. This is what I love to do, and I love the people that I’m doing it with,” she said. “I’m happy to be here.”
Bridges did say the New England weather and country terrain required some getting used to. This was also true for Shawn Wallace, who plays Drucilla’s brother, Festus. Wallace is a 20-year-old sophomore at Albright College in Reading, Pennsylvania. But both said they’ve enjoyed visiting some rural pockets of the Northeast.
“It’s been good. … You know, getting to travel, see … how other people live,” Wallace said. “I’m from Philadelphia, so it’s the city. I’m not from this (area), but it’s beautiful out here.”
Wallace clarified he is not involved with Semester Cinema.
“This is something I do outside of school. This isn’t connected with school,” he said. “Acting is just something I want to do.”
Craven has set up a Kickstarter campaign at bit.ly/3jG6aEU to garner funding for his project.
Reach Domenic Poli at dpoli@recorder.com or 413-772-0261, ext. 262.