In January Caress of the Creature, a 2006 Masters thesis film written and directed by Stewart McAlpine, was accepted into the nationally recognized Slamdance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. The January 21 and 24 screenings of Caress as a part of the "Gallery Shorts" program for the acclaimed rebel festival marked the film's national debut, and garnered the film an Honorable Mention Award in the shorts category.

Then, on April 2nd, McAlpine learned that Caress of the Creature won The Grand Jury Award for Best Narrative Short at the Florida Film Festival, which qualified the FSU short film for a nomination in the shorts competition in the 2008 Academy Awards competition.

“I’m not surprised,” remarked Frank Patterson, dean of the Film School. “This is a smart and hilarious film made by a sure-handed director.” Caress of the Creature is an offbeat black and white comedy that parodies the 50"s classic Creature From The Black Lagoon with a contemporary twist. The opening sequence and much of the principle photography was shot in Wakulla Springs Park outside of Tallahassee, the very same location where Black Lagoon was photographed.

On break from construction work, a foreman decides to take a swim in the waters of Lake Habagappee where he is tickled by a sea creature in a "tender, yet masculine manner". No one believes him except for Pablo, the crew's feminine immigrant worker boy. When the creature later captures Pablo, the town is more concerned that the creature might be gay than about poor Pablo. The foreman leads a hunting party to search for the creature, leading to a climactic confrontation in the creature's underwater lair where the foreman must face the creature and his own conflicting emotions.

Caress also was chosen as a part of the Film School annual screening at the Director's Guild Theatres in Los Angeles. Following the event, talent manager Michael Lasker of Four Sight Entertainment contacted the film’s director, Stewart McAlpine. Four Sight Entertainment manages Film School alumni Greg Jardin (The Problem With Fiber Optics) and Eduardo Rodriguez (award-winning short Daughter and Dimension Films’ Curandero).

CARESS OF THE CREATURE

Director: Stewart McAlpine
Producer: Eric Leong
Writer: Stewart McAlpine
DP: Chia Yi Lin
Editor: Sarah Beth Shapiro
Music: Evan Gamble, original score
Cast: Owen Provencher, Junior Mendez, Michael Carlucci (as the Creature)