Join host Olivia Lyle (@olivialyle1) for an exclusive interview with the creative team behind Liminal (USA), nominated for Best Experimental Short of 2025 at the IndieX Film Fest Annual Awards.

Captured by Kyle Reed (@thekylereed) at Regal LA Live, Los Angeles, the conversation features director and IndieX alumna Janelle Christa, lead actor Edward Kasper, cast member and key makeup artist Shannon Loar-Coté, and script supervisor and co-producer Natalie Schlute.

Liminal follows Fredric, a man on the brink—haunted by addiction, broken relationships, and self-destruction. As he leaps from a cliff in an act of desperation, he awakens in a surreal purgatory. There, surrounded by haunting manifestations of his vices—prostitutes, alcohol, cocaine, gambling—Fredric confronts his “Shadow,” a monstrous embodiment of his repressed guilt and darkest impulses. Acting as both tormentor and reluctant guide, the Shadow forces Fredric to face the brutal truths of his life in a transformative spiritual reckoning. What follows is a raw, ambiguous journey into responsibility, regret, and redemption, culminating in the final haunting line: “Redemption begins with regret.”

Christa and her team craft an emotionally unflinching and visually arresting descent into the psyche—a cathartic exploration of shame, accountability, and spiritual awakening, grounded in lived experience. Drawing from Christa’s personal journey through trauma and suicidal ideation, Liminal is both a psychological thriller and an invitation for viewers to confront their own shadows.

Watch the interviews, and trailer, below to learn how the filmmakers navigated the film’s intense emotional terrain, the symbolism behind its stylized purgatory, and how Liminal challenges conventional narratives of healing, accountability, and spiritual growth.

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