Jesse Larson '09 on the set of "Endure."

LAKELAND (April 14, 2010) -- When Lakeland rolls out the red carpet this weekend for the screening of the new movie "Endure," Florida Southern College will be well-represented.

Jesse Larson '09 served as an associate producer on the film, which was shot in and around Lakeland last spring by a local film company, NFocus. As an associate producer, he was the producer's "right-hand man," he says.

"I was on set every day, and we filmed the week before finals, the week of finals, and the week after, so I was running back and forth from campus to the set so I could take my exams and work on the movie," Larson says.

A crime thriller set in the fictional town of Lakeridge, "Endure" tells the story of a young woman abducted and tied to a tree in the middle of a Central Florida swamp and of the detectives who are looking for her. Starring Judd Nelson, Devon Sawa, Tom Arnold, and Joey Lauren Adams, "Endure" was named Best Florida Production at the 2010 Gasparilla International Film Festival and was screened this week at the prestigious Sarasota Film Festival.

Larson was among 70 people who worked on the set every day during the shooting of the $1.5 million independent film. In addition, several FSC alumni including--Trippi McGlinn '00, Toby McGlinn '99, John Hickman '99, and Angela Rogell '02--worked as extras on the film, some of which was filmed just blocks from the College.

"It was an incredible experience," Larson says. "I had never actually seen a movie being made all the way through. In college I worked on short films and made music videos, but to be on set for a major motion picture was amazing."

Larson first met the owners of NFocus when he took a class on movie production as a high school student at Lakeland Christian School. Since graduating from FSC, he has gone to work full time with NFocus and is now working on a documentary about Cuba with FSC's Dr. Jose Garcia, associate professor of Spanish.

At Friday night's Lakeland premiere at The Polk Theatre, Larson will join others who worked on the project in walking the "red carpet" while a Lakeridge police car will be parked outside, lights flashing, so no one will miss the action.

Visit www.enduremovie.com to learn more about the film, or order tickets for the Lakeland screening at www.polktheatre.org.