The premiere of the community movie project “East Side Zombies,” a 40-minute drama filmed at locations in New London, Groton, Waterford and Mystic and involving members of the autistic community, will be at 11 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 10, at the Mystic Luxury Cinemas at Olde Mistick Village.

Admission to the red-carpet event is free.

A feedback session with the film’s producer, the director and other principals will be held immediately following the screening. If demand is high for the first showing, a second screening will be held at noon the same day.

The intention behind “East Side Zombies” is to give people on the autism spectrum a chance to participate in movie making and to initiate a dialog about bullying in the special needs community. It is the story of two young lovers, one a zombie and one a human, who are caught in the crossfire of a dispute over zombie rights. In the movie, zombies have emerged from hiding and evolved into peace-loving vegetarians, yet humans still hold them in contempt based on past misunderstandings.

The two main characters in the film are Martin, a young man in a wheelchair portrayed by East Lyme resident Nathan Piersall-Howard, a student at the University of Connecticut at Avery Point; and Persippany, played by Sydney Nault of Danielson, a student at Ellis Technical High School. Geoff Blanchette of Westerly plays Max, a curmudgeonly zombie fighting the human establishment, and Ric Silver of Groton, who portrays the lead zombie slayer. Other local folks appear in the film.

For more information visit eastsidezombies.org.