CH · 01
A desire for greatness
It all started when an eleven year old Christian Gerring watched a twelve year old Christian Bale bring a Spielberg masterpiece to life. From that fateful day Christian knew cinema was his future.
About Pancake Studios
Belfast has more storytellers than studios.
We're trying to fix the second half of that sentence.
An independent creative hub and film studio in Belfast — championing local voices in the screen industry, and giving filmmakers, freelancers, and the wider creative community somewhere to work, build, and stay. Our mission is to create the environment needed to produce grassroots film studios that compete against the Hollywood studios of old.
The journey
CH · 02
The people met along the way
From drama school to the independent film scene in Dublin. The amazing creative talents Christian met along the way revealed to him one thing - this island is ready to become the next behemoth in global cinema. Yet despite this, the island seems to suffer from a serious creative brain drain.
CH · 03
The problem
Native creatives, including himself, all seemed to believe that the only way to be truly successful in the film world was to leave the emerald isles. Despite it's rich history of producing incredible literary and cinematic talent, the systems in place weren't keeping homegrown talent at home. Something had to change.
CH · 04
The solution
The solution seemed obvious, bring local creatives together, giving them the space and tools to learn, take risks and create opportunity. The how felt a lot more complicated. Starting small seemed both easier, and safer.
CH · 05
Expedited timeline
Pancake Studios was born, an independent production company, producing their first short film, with a more ambitious proof of concept being shot the following year. The path was clear until a certain £1.5 million drug bust occurred on the Limestone Road in Belfast...
CH · 06
Vision
When Christian first saw the former printing factory, he instantly could see its potential.
Instead of a factory floor, he saw a studio, a blank canvas for creatives and production companies to build whatever they needed.
In place of derelict offices, he saw a coworking space and production offices to bring local aspiring filmmakers and large productions together under the same roof to create opportunity and community.
Rather than empty, outdated rooms, he saw podcast studios and rehearsal rooms where people could build their brands and perfect their art.
CH-07
Leap of faith.
With his vision in mind, Christian came up with a business plan and apply for a loan to transform 107 Limestone Road into North Belfast's premier creative hub and film studios.
The task of revitalising an unloved building turned out to be no mean feat; every wire in the building needed replaced, the heating system needed thrown out and updated, as well as the interior screaming to be renewed.
CH- 08
For Creatives, by creatives.
Removing dropped ceilings, replacing doors, making acoustic panels. Over a year every aspect of the space was shaped with creatives and productions in mind; what do they need, what do they want, what will make their lives easier?
A warm, comfortable space emerged, ready to serve local filmmakers. Pancake Tuesday 2026 saw 300+ creatives and industry professionals make it down to Pancake Studios for the official launch!
CH · 09
More to come
Changing the landscape of the Island's screen industry doesn't happen over night, nor does it happen in a vacuum.
It happens when filmmakers come together and create opportunity and audiences for themselves, taking the power from the gatekeepers and carving out a future where they maintain creative control. The Island of Ireland deserves a serious answer when people start talking about a Hollywood of Europe — and Pancake's job is to be a small piece of that answer.
Sustainability
Built from what was here.
Most of the wood in the studio was already on the site. We kept the timber from the original ceiling and reclaimed more from the cannabis factory that ran in the building before us, rather than ordering new and throwing out the old.
That thinking runs through the whole place. Film production has a waste problem Christian has never been easy with: a set gets built for one shoot, used for a few days, then broken up and binned. The materials, the labour and the cost all go with it.
The everyday habits matter too. Food waste goes to on-site composting. The tea comes from Suki, a certified B-Corp whose packaging is fully biodegradable.
The set flats are where it counts most. We keep a stock of reusable ones on site, so a build doesn't start from scratch or end in a skip. It cuts the waste, and it brings a set build within reach of smaller productions who couldn't justify the cost otherwise.
Team
The people who actually open the doors.
Christian Gerring
Founder · MD
Writer, Director, Actor, Producer. Christian started Pancake Studios in 2023, first as a production company, to create cinematic films not only to entertain audiences, but to lead them to explore topics in ways they haven't before. Through working in independent productions, both in front and behind the camera, he noticed a few things didn't seem right. Proper support for independent productions was few and far between, and was tightly held by industry gatekeepers. Studios lay empty for months at a time, waiting and relying on foreign productions with deep pockets. Nowhere for filmmakers to learn from each other and drive their careers forward. This is when Pancake Studios went from being a production company, to a proper studios with a goal of providing the facilities necessary to give creatives the power to shape their own future.
Films — Never Alone (2024), An Riomh (2025).
Have a look around
The studios speak for themselves — and so do the films made in them.