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From Runes to Ruins

From Runes to Ruins is the first ever documentary film about Anglo-Saxon paganism. Independently produced and funded, it is unique in its emotive and artistic approach to religious history.

  • Thomas Rowsell
    Director
    Boobs and Revolution
  • Thomas Rowsell
    Writer
    Boobs and Revolution
  • Thomas Rowsell
    Producer
    Boobs and Revolution
  • James Roper
    Producer
  • Anthony Leigh
    Producer
  • Project Type:
    Documentary
  • Genres:
    History, religion
  • Runtime:
    50 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    April 9, 2014
  • Production Budget:
    10,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United Kingdom
  • Country of Filming:
    United Kingdom
  • Language:
    English
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Folklore Society non print media award
    London
    United Kingdom
    November 20, 2014
    Official selection
  • Portobello Film Festival
    London
    United Kingdom
    September 14, 2014
    British premiere
    Official selection
  • Palaestria film festival (2019)
    Stockholm
    Sweden
    September 28, 2019
    Swedish premiere
    Official selection
Director Biography - Thomas Rowsell

Thomas Rowsell worked as an international model before he finished a BA in media and film making in Brighton in 2007, then completed an MA in medieval history in 2012. He has worked on a number of music videos and documentaries, including his own Boobs and Revolution (2010) concerning breast surgery in revolutionary Venezuela. Comfortable on both sides of the camera, Rowsell used his knowledge of history to direct and star in his first feature length film, From Runes to Ruins (2014).

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Director Statement

While studying my Master’s degree in medieval history, I was fascinated by the same mythology and legends that had inspired J.R.R. Tolkien to write The Lord of the Rings. Delving through old leather books and countless journals, trying to discover more about the forgotten religion of the Anglo-Saxon pagans, I couldn’t help noticing some familiar place names. It seemed that all the places from my youth were in some way connected to the history of the Anglo-Saxon heathens; whether it be the village of Thursley, named after Thor, which was near to my childhood home, or the ancient pagan barrows I used to camp on as a teen.

I realised that through the landscape I had a personal relationship with the pre-Christian inhabitants of England and wondered how many other people had developed this strange fascination. Initially I had never intended to present From Runes to Ruins, but after the production house I was working with dropped the project, I no longer had the funds necessary to pay for a famous presenter. Financial constraints necessitated my stepping in to the presenting role, but this allowed me to put a personal slant on the documentary, using the pagan landscape of my own past to communicate the culture of a far more distant one.

I hope that From Runes to Ruins sparks a new interest in the pagan religion of our Anglo-Saxon ancestors and also encourages people to look at the land itself as a beautiful, spiritual inheritance which brings us closer to nature, our ancestors and each other.