There Is A VERY Good Chance Customary Use Will Return to South Walton Beaches. Here’s Why:
Christopher Saul
04/17/2025
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Local Producer to Premier Zombie Flick in Northwest Florida
Halloween may have passed, but a northwest Florida Native will roll out the purple carpet for the premiere of her first feature-length sci-fi comedy, called Zombees.
The movie is set in the Florida Panhandle and features a coroner who has to team up with her ex-fiancé (an apiologist who left her at the altar) to figure out why a bunch of bees have mysteriously started to die without explanation.
Elisia Marie, a local writer, producer, and actress, wrote this movie’s script in 2020 – while she was in pandemic lockdown.
Her production company, Purple Hair Productions, will premier the film at Regal Santa Rosa on December 17th at 6:00 PM. Cast and Crew will host a Purple Carpet Event at 5:00 PM.
According to their ticket sales page, the move is for people who “love cheesy B movies (and BEE) movies.”
There is no nudity, sex or talk about sex. There is some blood and gore, “but not a lot,” according to the film’s producers.
Some people smoke marijuana in the movie.
A portion of the proceeds from the movie will go to the We Reign Sickle Cell Corporation, which works to raise support and visibility for people who have sickle cell disease.
Like most indy films, Zombees had a shoestring budget to accomplish its cinematic goals. “making a feature film on a micro budget kind of forced [screenwriter, director and lead Elesia Marie] into that position,” a release from the production company noted. Marie, “relied heavily on the experienced professionals around her, and took a crash course at the University of YouTube. The fact that she was also the lead actress in the film made it even more challenging, but gave her the opporunity to push herself to become more than ‘just an actress,'” the release added.
Most of the cast and crew on the production are Nortwest Florida locals. The production features local scenery, art, songs and small businesses from the area, too. Filming locations included Fort Walton Beach, Crestview, DeFuniak Springs, Milton, Pensacola and Baker.
Producer Nick Smith, a BBC-trained actor and producer from Bristol, England collaborated on the project as well. In addition to this and many other films, Smith has worked in the film industry since 1993 and co-founded Scotland’s first national film school in the 1990s.
