One Early Morning, the Alligator Swallowed Me

In the Colombian Caribbean town of Plato, a legend tells of a man who once transformed himself into an alligator. One Early Morning, the Alligator Swallowed Me revisits this folktale through the portrait of a solitary fisherman who wanders through rivers, marshlands, and the haunted memory of the town. The film traces a world where past and present, human and beast, land and water uneasily coexist, shaped by memory, desire and folklore.

Nicolás Palacio is a filmmaker from the Colombian Caribbean based in New York City and a co-founder of the production company Civil Jornal. His work explores the space where fiction and documentary intersect, drawing on visual poetry and cinéma vérité with an underlying sense of melancholy. His MFA thesis film, One Early Morning the Alligator Swallowed Me, received the Chantal Akerman Student Prize and won Best Cinematography and Best Fiction at the CityVisions Showcase.

Following his 2020 debut feature, Lemonade, Lemonade, his BFA thesis film, which screened at festivals across Latin America and was theatrically released in Colombia, he is currently developing his second feature, Madera (Timber), winner of the Colombian Film Fund Production Award and presented at the San Sebastián International Film Festival, Berlinale Talents Guadalajara, and the Bogotá Audiovisual Market.

Awarded

2026 NBR Student Grant

Type of Project

Narrative/Hybrid

Length

15:40

Program

City College

Producer

Nicolás Palacio

Writer

Nicolás Palacio

Editor

Nicolás Palacio

Cinematographer

Nicolás Palacio