image A short film based on JRR Tolkien’s book The Hobbit that was made by 11 school children over their Easter holidays will debut at Saffron Screen in the UK this Sunday.

The film, called Children of the Hobbit, features eleven-year-old Richard Bellamy in the lead role of Drogo, a hobbit who teams up with his friend Etholph and an elf called Elensar in a quest to defeat the evil Orcs and return peace to Middle-earth.

Richard’s father, Paul, says that the project’s roots lie in his childhood, listening to his mother reading The Hobbit. Thirty-five years later when he and his son Richard were reading Tolkien’s book, it inspired them to write and produce this film.

Paul — a special effects artist who has worked on films such as Harry Potter and The Bourne Ultimatum — helped produce the movie, which was filmed entirely in and around the village of Saffron Walden in the UK.

Children of The Hobbit will premiere this Sunday July 6 at 3pm at Saffron Screen as part of a screening of Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure. Check out the trailer below (the orcs look especially awesome!), or go visit their website.


 

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