We ran across a new film, which is “kind of” part dramatization, and part historical, of the last days of Cyrus Teed.
The new independent film about the historic Florida cult is titled Last Days of Koreshan. Written, directed, and produced by filmmaker L. Fried,
Set in 1908 in the swamps of Estero, Florida—at the commune now preserved as the Koreshan State Park—the narrative captures a moment of intense crisis. Cyrus Teed (the charismatic leader who claimed divine revelation and taught that humanity lives inside a hollow, concave Earth) has just died.
Rather than focusing solely on Teed, the movie centers on his sister, Emma Norton, who is left to manage the community. As the followers refuse to bury Teed—placing his body on display in a zinc bathtub while waiting for his prophesied resurrection—Emma must navigate the group’s rising panic, doubt, and religious uncertainty.
A historical drama with elements of religious fervor and fantasy, drawing stylistic inspiration from films like Midsommar and Robert Eggers’ historical realism.Core
Cast: Stars Marcela Herrera as Emma and Michael R. Spinks as Cyrus Teed.Historical Accuracy: Production utilized historically accurate period costuming (Victorian/Edwardian era) and featured a custom-built, hand-painted concave globe prop to reflect the group’s “Cellular Cosmogony” belief system.
The makers of the film have a page on the crowdsource website “Seed and Spark” which you can view HERE They also have a site called We Live Inside
Lastly, you can view a short preview on YouTube
We have not seen the entire film, so I don’t want to put too much credence into it. If nothing else, it would be fun just to see some of the Koreshans brought to life.
The makers appear to have done their homework and research (I don’t know if they found our site ;-). I would question their premise about Emma Norton leading the community after Teed’s death, for example. Or… some kid named “Ash” etc. but, all bears “watching” …