Alaska and the fictional Middle-Earth collide on the silver screen this weekend with the world premiere of “Ranger of the North” at the Chagrin Documentary Film Festival.
The documentary opens with Chagrin Falls native Peter Christian, warming himself by a fire in the Alaskan wilderness. He sits meditatively before the scene abruptly cuts to a blast furnace.
That juxtaposition is at the heart of the film: Christian’s J.R.R. Tolkien-inspired love of nature and the impacts of industrialization and climate change.
After 34 years as a park ranger in Alaska, Christian retired in 2024.
"Lots of people come to Alaska because they're either running away from something or chasing a dream,” he said. “I came to Alaska because I wanted to find the most remote wild places in North America. I got to work above the Arctic Circle and really all over Alaska. What motivated me was doing my little part, no matter how small it was, to protect those wild lands."
He had an “idyllic” childhood in Chagrin Falls.
“Not only is it beautiful, but it's just a friendly place where you know your neighbors,” he said.
It’s also where Christian discovered Tolkien and “The Lord of the Rings.” His friends called their hometown a bubble where nothing bad could ever happen.
“Looking back now, I can see Chagrin Falls a bit like the Shire,” he said, referring to Tolkien’s fictional, literary safe place. “Everyone knew each other and looked out for each other. I'm definitely not comparing myself to any of the heroes in ‘Lord of the Rings,’ but … I ended up as a ‘Ranger of the North,’ just like Aragorn.”
During the pandemic, Christian took an online course about the British author. So did Bradley Bethel, a Toledo native who now teaches in North Carolina. At the time, Bethel was getting reacquainted with one of his favorite authors.
"A lot of people love 'Lord of the Rings,' but not everyone has thought so much about these environmental themes,” he said. “When Peter and I met, he had explained how in his career, seeing climate change face-to-face in a way that a lot of us in the lower 48 haven't … there's ways in which climate change has come a lot sooner. He is searching for hope in the face of climate change and looking to Tolkien as kind of a guide for that.”
That became the basis for Bethel’s latest film: A look at the power of literature and his love for Tolkien.
"’Lord of the Rings,’ it's a story of good versus evil,” Bethel said. “The heroes have a profound love of our connection to nature. And they want to protect and preserve nature. And the villains have a disregard for nature. They treat nature as just a resource to be exploited. This was something that Peter and I talked a lot about."
The pair made sure that their work would have appeal beyond Tolkien’s fan base.
“It's a film about how people relate to the environment and what's at stake when people forget about how important nature is,” Christian said. “They're going to see primarily a film about wild and beautiful landscapes that are endangered, that are being pressed hard by industrial civilization. If you love our planet, if you have children like Bradley and I do … you have a stake in the future. We can't afford to give in to despair. You have to have hope. What's the alternative?"
Both Christian and Bethel will attend the world premiere of “Ranger of the North” Friday at 6 p.m. at Triangle Park, during the Chagrin Documentary Film Festival. The film runs again on Saturday at 2 p.m. at the Chagrin Valley Little Theatre.
