ALTAMONT — The proverb “a man’s home is his castle” is literally true for Thom Breitenbach. An artist, he built his castle with his own hands.

As a student in the 1970s, Breitenbach had won a Rome Prize Fellowship and was inspired by the castles he saw in Europe. He returned home — his father had bought over 100 acres on the edge of the Helderberg escarpment just above the village of Altamont — and began building on 30 acres of woods and meadows he had explored and loved as a boy.

This week, that acreage and that castle are fulfilling another person’s dreams as Rebeccah Crabtree is filming “The Kingdom of Rexmonte,” a medieval fantasy comedy, there.

Crabtree, who graduated from New York University in 2021 with a degree in film production, wrote the script and is directing, said Daniel McElroy, the film’s producer.

The period comedy looks to be a far cry from the real-world devastation of Crabtree’s short film, “More Than A Memory,” which documents the effects of a Dec. 10, 2021 tornado on the people of Mayfield, Kentucky but ends with hope of homes being rebuilt.

“It’s a big-time movie,” Breitenbach told The Enterprise of “Rexmonte.”

 Over the years, two other movies — local, independent films — have used his castle and grounds as a setting: “White Creek,” a feature film by John Yost in 2013 and “The Middle Ages,” written by David Bunce, released in 2021.

Castle Breitenbach has also been featured in several music videos, including a Bollywood version of “Lady In Red” by Tauseef Baksh, which got a half-million views, he said.

“Most of the audience was from India and Pakistan,” he said. “And a New York model came up to pose with her fiancé for engagement photos,” he went on, adding, “She liked medieval clothes.”

Crabtree Pictures found out about Breitenbach’s castle through a friend of his who has a castle home in Bolton Landing on Lake George.

His friend’s castle will be used for indoor shots — “he has medieval armor,” said Breitenbach — but Crabtree needed a castle setting with lots of land for battle scenes, Breitenbach said, so his friend suggested his Helderberg castle.

“Do you want to be an extra in a large scale medieval battle scene?” asks an online post, looking for volunteers from Oct. 20 to 25.

“Perks” are listed as: credit, full lunch and snacks, and “a fun, memorable experience on a professional film set!” The post adds, “Also, if you have your own medieval/ren faire soldier gear, that’s a bonus.”

On the set

The castle property, off of Township Road, was buzzing with activity on Thursday afternoon.

One of Breitenbach’s meadows was filled with cars, trucks, and vans. Horses stood by a medieval-inspired grand gate, festooned with colorful flags.

“It looks like a Western,” said Breitenbach since some of the horse handlers wore cowboy hats. Most of the horses came from Georgia, he said.

Karen Weiss, who is providing space for some of the horses at her Voorheesville stable, was on the set.

Breitenbach described a “train track” that was set up in his field to allow the camera to move smoothly as a battle scene was filmed.

His garage was being used for makeup and serving food, he said. “And they had me put a flag on the castle.”

On Thursday, two members of the crew watched scenes on a screen as they were being filmed, a teapot nearby.

A large white screen was set up to filter sunlight.

Costumed actors mingled with the crew as preparations were made for filming.

“They spend hours setting up things for a 30-second scene,” said Breitenbach. “It’s crazy. They start at 7 in the morning and don’t finish till 8 at night.”

Producer McElroy said shooting has started six weeks ago, first in Pennsylvania and then in West Virginia. Next, the crew will move to the castle at Lake George and then return to Philadelphia, he said.

Crabtree plans to show “The Kingdom of Rexmonte” at film festivals, he said.

McElroy and a reporter were shooed from the stone pathway in front of the grand gate where, before the large white screen, the filming of a scene was about to begin.

“Three - two - one!” came the call.