Kevin Elliott dreamed of the day when Historic Downtown Panama City would wake up and meet its potential. Then Hurricane Michael hit in 2018 and everything changed. “Since the storm, our arts and business culture has exploded, especially downtown,” he said. “We now have murals, coffee shops, murals, even a gorgeous hotel on the marina. It is a joy to watch.”

 

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Kevin Elliott fell in love with Historic Downtown Panama City when he was 13 years old. The year was 1988. Elliott, a self-described “Air Force kid,” had just moved to town from Frankfurt, Germany. His father packed the family in their car and drove around their new hometown. As they tooled down Harrison Avenue, Elliott was struck by downtown’s blighted condition, but also its potential. “I had just lived in and traveled around Europe, which has old downtowns everywhere,” Elliott said. “And they are alive - markets, concerts, festivals, people walking around. I didn’t understand why our downtown was so dead.” 

 

Elliott is a creative at heart and started a film company in 2020 called Wewa Films. They specialize in heartfelt, documentary-style videos. The great response they got to that style planted a seed in Elliott’s heart and mind. He wanted to make a film festival downtown. “Wewa Films proved that our community wanted high-quality creative work,” Elliott said. “And our burgeoning arts community - murals, music festivals, comedy shows - proved it even further. I thought to myself, ‘I wonder if we are ready for a film festival.” That is how Redfish Film Fest was born. 

 

Redfish is a documentary-only festival. It will be held in Historic Downtown Panama City April 11-13, 2024. Elliott’s instinct proved to be right. The town responded overwhelmingly to the idea. “I shopped the idea around to some of my friends in influential positions downtown before I told anyone else,” Elliott said. “Every one of them jumped at it. We were ready.”

 

So far, Redfish has more than 70 documentaries on the docket, with more than a dozen award-winning film industry professionals flying in from around the country to take part. The fest has both local and regional films, but also from PBS and NASA. “We have a whole venue dedicated to just PBS films,” Elliott said. “We can’t get over the response.” The Redfish team is trying to make this fest more than just watching films. They want it to be a community celebration of how far they’ve come. “We have big side events every night during Redfish,” Elliott said. “We did that on purpose to give locals and guests as many chances as possible to come downtown, be with each other, and experience something they never have before. We are coming into our own.”

 

Elliott looks back on his 35 years in Panama City and that first time he drove down Harrison Avenue. “It’s happening. The dream I saw for a vibrant downtown is finally coming true,” Elliott said. “Everyone is pulling together and doing their part to make our town the kind of place we’ve seen elsewhere and travel to. We’re making it for ourselves.” Learn more about Wewa Films at wewafilms.com, and about Redfish Film Fest at redfishfilmfest.com.