Sir Lanval -A Chagford Filmmaking Group Production. The story so far...

I’m Alex from the Chagford Filmmaking Group. We have been making films of traditional fairy tales for six years now and last year we secured grants from the European Regional Development Fund and South West Screen to make a 52-minute film of the 12th century fairy tale, Sir Lanval.

Now, a year on, we have already done some preliminary shooting, and are traveling to London this Friday (February, 12) to audition for the lead roles. Having had around 250 applicants, it’s been hard enough just choosing who to audition and I’m sure selecting only three people on Friday will be even more of a challenge!

The story of Sir Lanval is a fascinating one indeed! As director Elizabeth Jane Baldry says: ‘It’s a breathtaking rollercoaster of romance -love, betrayal, deceit, passion, fidelity.’

The story itself is about a young vassal of King Arthur who falls in love with the fairy queen Tryamour. Although their love for each other is great, it must be kept secret, and Lanval does not find this easy at the same time as having to show allegiance and honesty to the king whom he also grows to love and respect.

Thrown into the mix is the flirtatious and jealous queen, Guinevere, who wants Lanval for herself despite being married to the king! It is claimed that CS Lewis said it was the greatest medieval story ever written and yet it has never been made into a film. We feel privileged, and perhaps a little scared, to have this responsibility!

More information on the project can be found at our Fairytale Films website. Please do subscribe and email me if you are interested in getting involved in this exciting project!

For now, check out some behind the scenes footage of the preliminary shoot which took place over Halloween last autumn and if you are lucky enough to spot any fairies please let us know; we really need them for our film, but they are unbelievably hard to catch!