PANAMA CITY, FL March 4, 2024 – There is a new documentary film fest in the Southeast.
Redfish Film Fest will premiere April 11-13 in Panama City, Florida, with more than 80 docs screening across five venues in Panama City’s walkable historic arts district.
The founders also have high-end side events planned for each night of the fest, including an opening night red carpet party, a community block party, a closing night “casual” gala, and an Anthony Bourdain themed champagne brunch.
Kevin Elliott, director of Redfish, says he wants this festival to make a splash in year 1.
“From day one, we focused on making Redfish unique,” Elliott said. “We have all the things people love about film fests—lots of films, headliners, Q&As, panels—but also elements of surprise and delight people likely haven’t seen at other fests. We’re swinging for the fences.”
That starts with the focus – documentaries. Redfish will be one of a small handful of doc-only fests in the country, and one of only two or three in the Southeast U.S.
“We’re doing docs because that is my favorite genre,” Elliott said. “But we think it’s also a good business move. If we launched a traditional film festival, we’d be lost in the noise. By doing docs only, we give attendees and filmmakers a clear choice, and we can build quality in our niche.”
Elliott’s business partner and Redfish programming director, Lex Benedict, said that clarity also lets them celebrate documentary filmmakers.
“Documentarians don’t have the budgets of narrative filmmakers, they don’t have the publicity, don’t have the distribution,” Benedict said. “We are building Redfish to celebrate and elevate documentary filmmakers. If you’re a doc maker, we want Redfish to be your home.”
Learn more about Redfish at their website: https://redfishfilmfest.com/