It all started with a broken arm. When filmmaker Jay Craven first moved to Vermont, in spring 1974, the only way he could heat his farmhouse was with wood. He borrowed a truck to lug the logs back to his house, but one drive downhill and a pair of failed brakes later, he had a cast on his right arm. Unable to finish editing a documentary, he had time to explore the Vermont History Museum in Montpelier, where he learned about the story of Ethan Allen. Fifty years later, he's reimagined the Vermont Revolutionary War hero's legend. The 10th film from the prolific Vermont director, Lost Nation tells two intersecting, fictionalized tales of historical figures: Allen, one of the state's founding fathers; and African American poet Lucy Terry Prince, who was living in Vermont at the same time as Allen. It premieres at the Latchis Theatre in Brattleboro on Wednesday and Thursday, July 10 and 11, and screens at Main Street Landing Performing Arts Center in Burlington on Friday and Saturday, July 12 and 13, before embarking on a series of showings throughout Vermont and Massachusetts. A farmer, writer, soldier and politician, Allen was a significant player in Vermont's fight for independence and resistance to New York's control. In Lost Nation, he's played by the steely-eyed Irish actor Kevin J. Ryan. The film portrays the leader of the Green Mountain Boys militia as a man on a mission, determined to do whatever's necessary to win Vermont's sovereignty. Prince's history is less known. Her poem "Bars Fight," a 1746 ballad about an assault on two white families by Native Americans, is considered the oldest known piece of literature by an African American. Eva Ndachi's performance as Prince is muted in contrast to Ryan's, yet her command of the character is powerful. The rebel schemer and the poet-activist came from different backgrounds and fought for independence in opposite ways — Allen through often covert military exploits and Prince by appealing to Vermont governor Thomas Chittenden to protect her family against racial persecution. To Craven, the two figures are connected through the shared experience of protecting their land. There's no recorded history of Prince and Allen meeting, but in Lost Nation, their paths cross when Prince sees Allen rounding up a group of American traitors. Aside from that chance encounter, the film alternates between their stories. "Working with two separate…