Around 75,000 people live in Walton County. That’s the same number of people who live in a beachside city in France, called Cannes. There are 85 other cities in France the same size as Cannes, but you probably couldn’t name them. You know about Cannes because it’s home to the world’s most prestigious film festival.
It costs Cannes around $6m a year to stage the festival. Its economic impact to the city is around $200 million. And the festival generates around one billion dollars worth of film industry business.
What if we had a film festival here? That’s the question Kevin Elliot asked. Kevin is a film maker and the owner of film production company, Wewa Films. And he’s the founder of the Redfish Film Festival: a festival of documentary films in Panama City that had its world premiere in 2024.
Kevin Elliot, Owner of Wewa Films and founder of the Redfish Film Festival explains to Fletcher Isacks how Panama City could become the Cannes of documentary cinema
The reason a lot of us love living in this part of the world is the natural beauty of the place. And the advantage of living in a community that’s small enough to navigate, without the stresses of big city living. On the other hand, when the sun goes down we’d like to be able to enjoy the kind of nightlife that typically comes with a larger population. For example, comedy clubs.
Jason Hedden has solved the population vs comedy club conundrum by having no comedy club and a whole bunch of comedy clubs at the same time.Jason’s comedy company, Panama City Comedy, produces standup comedy shows, not at a single comedy club but at a wide range of different locations up and down the panhandle. You got a pizza restaurant? A bar? A theater? An oyster shack? You want Panama City Comedy to stage a show at your location? No problem. This business model has been making people laugh, and making Jason money, since 2019.
“Stop me if you’ve heard this one before…” Comedian and comedy promoter Jason Hedden, Owner of Panama City Comedy, turns local comedy into a seriously successful business
Entrepreneur of the Week
This week’s Out to Lunch Entrepreneur of the Week is Daniel Henderson. Daniel lives in Panama City and he’s the co-owner of a company called BFG Productions.
Kevin Elliot (his back to the camera), Fletcher Isacks and Jason Hedden listen to Daniel Henderson from BFG Productions outline his plans for growing his entertainment booking agency
BFG stands for Boogie Funk Groove and was originally a band. Now it’s much more than that. Now BFG books gigs for other bands and for DJ’s, and arranges all kinds of entertainment. Daniel describes himself as a secret weapon in the local entertainment business, working quietly behind the scenes to make events happen.
Fletcher Isacks hosts Out to Lunch at Farm & Fire on Highway 331 in Santa Rosa Beach
Out to Lunch was recorded live over lunch at Farm & Fire restaurant on Highway 331, overlooking Choctawhatchee Bay. Farm & Fire is one of Chef Jim Shirley’s family of fine restaurants. It’s open from 4pm, 6 days a week, and from 11am for brunch on Sundays.
Photos by Brandan Babineaux.