For Elrico Tunstall, director of “Sacred Hart” and a Pensacola native, showcasing the city that shaped him has been a lifelong goal. Tunstall grew up in Pensacola and attended Escambia High School.

After high school, Tunstall spent nine years in the Army. After serving his country, Tunstall used his GI Bill to move to Los Angeles and pursue acting in film. After taking acting classes, Tunstall decided he needed to learn more and went to Los Angeles Film School.

“They taught me everything I need to know behind the camera,” Tunstall said. “How to write, how to format, how to shoot, how to produce, how to do everything. Los Angeles Film School is responsible for that.”

Upon returning to Pensacola, Tunstall went to Virginia College and earned a degree in business management. Soon after this, he created a management company called Manager of The Year. Tunstall’s company doesn’t just manage acting talent, it creates it. Most of the actors in “Sacred Hart” have taken acting classes from Tunstall and his company in Pensacola. The acting classes are called Acting Corp.

Tunstall first came up with the idea for “Sacred Hart” four years ago. He wanted to create something that had never been seen before, a drama centered on a black Pensacola family owning a hospital. The film includes dramatic elements seen in series like Grey’s Anatomy, Power, and Empire.

Once the film is out, Tunstall intends to create a series to continue to tell the story. Even though the film isn’t complete yet, it has caught the eyes of one of Hollywood’s biggest producers.

“Tyler Perry took interest,” Tunstall said. Tunstall had reached out to him through IMDb, a popular source for movie, TV and celebrities, but didn’t expect to hear anything back. During production, Perry sent him an email giving him words of encouragement and telling him he was doing great work.

While the film is nearly done, it has been a long road to get there. Tunstall started trying to make the film several years ago, even getting the backing of major figures in Pensacola, like boxing legend Roy Jones Jr.

“Right before COVID hit is when Roy came on board,” Tunstall said.

Tunstall says the pandemic grinded the progress of the project to a halt. Out of the frustration of having to change the way he wanted to make the film came opportunity. He was able to rewrite parts of the script and improve on the production from casting to crew.

Tunstall wants to shine a light on Pensacola and promote the city nationally with “Sacred Hart.” Part of shining a light on Pensacola involves highlighting area businesses that help support the community. “Sacred Hart” has filmed at several locations across Pensacola, including at businesses like Family Ty’s Good Eats and Englewood All in One.

“Being connected with local businesses is very important,” Tunstall said. “Small businesses are the backbone of any community. If we are going to showcase Pensacola, we have to show those local businesses.”

Tunstall has attempted to showcase the city and region, not only in terms of locations but the cast and crew as well.

The cast and crew are a diverse group, hailing from places like Ohio, Texas, and New York, but most are from the local area. According to Tunstall, 60 locals are in the main, or principal, cast. Part of Tunstall’s reason for filming in Pensacola is to create something that Crestview, Navarre, Milton, and Pensacola are just some of the local places being represented in the production’s cast and crew.

The actors who portray the main family, known as the Brooks family in the film, are all local. Darin Byrd, who portrays the family patriarch in the film, is originally from Milton and the others are from Pensacola.

While fictional, the actors have become like a real family.

“Anytime that we’re around each other, for our character to be very vivid, we are in character, even if we are not going to be on camera, if we’re in the room together, this is my dad, that’s my brother and that’s my mom,” Sophia Steen, who plays Dr. Sophia Brooks in “Sacred Hart” said. “That’s how we make what we do so real.”

The film, once finished, will be around 90 minutes. Tunstall hopes to have a Pensacola premiere in November. From there, the film will go onto different streaming platforms. For the cast and crew, seeing their hard work payoff is a blessing.

“These people right here, having a hand in watching them and growing with them, and to finally see us all on this stage it’s like, “yes.” It is that moment of seeing this is what it was all for,” Vincent Smith, who plays a member of the Brooks family, said.