Michelle McCabe and Rachel Prendergast are co-founders of new Norfolk-based production company, Liminal Films. Former Owner of The Tipsy Vegan, Michelle explains how they are aiming to release a debut feature film as early as next year!
We last featured you when you were heading up The Tipsy Vegan – how proud are you of that venture?
I’m incredibly proud of what was achieved over the eight years of running The Tipsy Vegan. We were the first of a wave of all-vegan restaurants to open in the region. It was our team’s ongoing ability to reimagine what vegan food could be and attract so many non-vegans to dine with us that played such a big role in our success. We were part of this collective shift on how people viewed vegan food, and I think nowadays people are much more open to reducing their consumption of animal foods.
Sadly, the pressures of post-Covid, cost of living crisis and difficulties faced by the hospitality industry led to us departing the business in summer of 2023 and it has since closed entirely. I am deeply proud of the hundreds of team members we worked with over the years, however, many of whom were students supporting themselves through Uni, and I love hearing about the great things they have gone onto achieve!
What have you been doing since – and what has led you to launching Liminal Films, as we start 2025?
I’ve been working in TV development for the last couple of years while also undertaking a Master’s Degree in Film. It’s been eye-opening discovering just how many incredibly talented and passionate creative people we have across Norfolk and East Anglia while at the same time being so underserved in terms of funding from broadcasters and BFI to enable more film and TV projects being made in the region. Often our most talented people end up moving to London or other creative hubs for more consistent work or, even worse, they leave the industry entirely through lack of opportunities.
We launched Liminal Films with the core goal of producing film and TV projects right here in Norfolk, primarily using regional talent, resources, and locations. By doing so, we aim to attract further productions and contribute to a sustainable, circular economy within the local industry.
Who else is involved? And what is the big plan for Liminal?
I’ve launched Liminal with fellow producer Rachel Prendergast. We started talking about a year ago and were on the same page about collaboration being key to building a viable production hub here. She’s incredibly talented and in recent years has delivered critically acclaimed projects, including Sylvia, a short film that earned 25 awards, was BAFTA-longlisted, and acquired by Disney+, and Maximus, which showcased her commitment to engaging and developing local talent.
The long-term plan for Liminal is to facilitate TV and film projects in this region. That will be through projects that we develop and produce in-house as well as partnering with production companies locally and internationally to encourage more filming here in Norfolk.
Tell us about your plans for your first feature film?
We are hoping to go into production with this one in the summer 2025 and then release next year! The film is titled “2030” and is a horror sci-fi that looks at where we could end up as a society in the not-too-distant future if the prevalence of AI is left unchecked. We are so excited to bring this to fruition. It has been written and will be directed by Richard Prendergast who is behind the success of Sylvia and Maximus with Rachel.
How can people find out more and support what you are doing?
We are currently raising finance to get 2030 into production and then we want to continue to grow our development slate of projects, so our plan at the moment is to raise awareness of our new venture. We’d love to hear from people that are working on projects in the region or trying to get them off the ground. The more evidence we have that there is a talent pool of people and ideas, the stronger our case will be for regional and international funding. Our website is liminalfilms.co.uk and myself or Rachel can be reached via there or LinkedIn anytime.
What is the ultimate hope for your film company?
That we become the catalyst for the next big creative hub in the UK. We want to see studio spaces opening up and ongoing TV and Film projects delivered across the East of England just like Bristol has created for the West of England.
Visit Liminal Films.
Featured image of (left to right) Michelle McCabe and Rachel Prendergast – supplied
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