Hollywood comes to Bradwell Parish Church

St Nicholas Church in Bradwell was taken over by a production crew for the filming of a funeral scene in a new thriller, with Rector Steve Deall playing the vicar!

The film is called Until We Bleed and is being directed by Tom Bennett who lives in Hopton. It follows a team of private military contractors hired by a wealthy businessman who claims his daughter has been kidnapped. As they dig deeper, they uncover all is not as it seems and they become embroiled in a government conspiracy. 

When the production company were looking for a suitable location for shooting a funeral scene in the film, one of the actors, who is also a member of St Nicolas's congregation, suggested using the Bradwell church building.
 
Mr Bennett created the story with his friend Luke Burge, and they started shooting in February 2024 at locations along the coast between Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft. Tom and Luke are are funding the production and also take starring roles in the movie, and several parishioners were recruited as extras for that scene.
 
Rector Steve Deall was even transformed from parish priest to on-screen vicar when the film-makers needed someone who could convincingly lead the service! Steve said, "The last time I acted I was eight years old, in a school play," he said. "But it was great fun, and fascinating to see how a film is actually made."
 
Bradwell Church facebook page says “This was not your average day at church! Today we welcomed a production company who spent the day filming for a feature film — and they couldn’t have been more professional or friendly. It was great to see some of our congregation get involved in front of the camera as extras, while Steve, our Rector, was rather convincingly cast as the vicar… some roles are clearly meant to be!

“It was a real joy to open our doors, meet new people, and showcase our wonderful building. Special thanks to the Diocese of Norwich communications team for their guidance and support in making sure everything ran smoothly.”
 
This story is based on an article in the Great Yarmouth Mercury.
 
The photo above shows Rector Steve Deall at St Nicholas’ Church in Bradwell, and is courtesy of Bradwell church facebook page.

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