Firetrail
S.C.'s Gone with the Wind
By Jackie Peronne jacper@juno.com

This photo was taken during the burning of the set representing the city of Columbia during the battle for Columbia reenactment in May 2006.

Firetrail has been called

the South Carolina version of Gone With The Wind.

It is set during the Civil War and features the burning of a city along with the plight of local civilians caught in the crisis.

But unlike that movie classic, this film features, not Hollywood stars, but a cast and crew made up mostly of South Carolinians. The author lived in Columbia for a while, and "fell in love with the area," she says.

Lydia Filzen, now of Orange Park, FL, wrote the book, which was the genesis of the movie. The task of condensing her 400- page tome to three hours of running time came to Chris Forbes, an independent filmmaker who consulted with the author throughout the writing process.

"Deep involvement in filming Firetrail has been a dream come true for this author," says Filzen. "Many times have I seen action in my head as I wrote scene after scene. Seeing those scenes come to life with real flesh and blood characters speaking my lines and moving through my story is living a dream."

Photo by Lydia Filzen Jim Hilton, leading man with other Confederate cavalry Charles Kizer, Roger Wanke, and Jerry Chesser

Leading man Jim Hilton is steely- eyed Blake, facing overwhelming odds. Lin Laffitte is Judith Rogers, a demure but gutsy widow in desperate circumstances. Tripp Courtney is the cynical Confederate scout Hunter Lightfoot. Nicole Dye plays the rebellious Lexi Winberry, and Tomme Hilton plays Sally Dubose, an opportunistic belle.

Debra Carlsen of Irmo served as a production assistant and offered her family's property in Lexington as a location. It provided houses, cabins, and an open field for some battle scenes.

Beaver Creek, a bluegrass band based in the Sandy Run area, contributed several original songs to the soundtrack. Jennifer Dyches wrote five of the six songs used in Firetrail.

The sixth track was an instrumental, Pickle, written by bandmate Tom Coolidge.

Filzen and her husband Larry were drafted for small parts in the movie, which gave them an excuse to commute I- 95 on weekends for the filming.

Photo by Tomme Hilton Jim Hilton, leading man in Firetrail, fights his way out of a house during filming

"The scene shooting took place on weekends for about a year," she says, "because just about everyone connected with the movie has a regular job, such as a physical therapist, a fire chief, and a nuclear engineer. Almost all of the filming was done in South Carolina, and most of the actors live in that state."

The core group of actors are also Civil War reenactment hobbyists. The organizers of the Battle of Aiken reenactment let Forbesfilm build a "bridge" set on their property. This was used during the battle scenarios and then burned for the movie shoot after dark. Although it was constructed over a dry gulley, digital magic provides the water underneath.

After premiering in Augusta, Ga., Firetrail played at the Columbiana Grande twice in September. Further showings are being scheduled. The DVD is available from www.lydiahawke.us or by phone at 904 - 272 - 0726.