Andre Morris Stars Panamanian Film “Historias del Canal”

Jamaican film and stage actor Andre Morris stars as Phillip, the romantic lead in the Panamanian short film Silver Roll which recently premiered across South America. Set in 1911, Silver Roll is one of the 5 short films which make up the full length feature film Historias del Canal.

Under the theme “100 years and thousands of stories around the panama canal,” Historias del Canal explores 5 different fictional story-lines, located during 5 significant moments in the history of Panama and by extension the Canal. Each short film was directed by a different Panamanian director with their particular vision colouring the different stories set in 1911, 1964, 1977 and 2013.

Silver Roll, directed by Carolina Borrero is the first in the time line (1911) and exemplifies the sacrifice of immigrants trying to find a better future for themselves and their families.  It is a tragic love story about a young Jamaican couple Phillip & Clarisse  played by Morris and American actress Lakisha May (Broadwalk Empire) respectively, set against the backdrop of the first wedding held under West Indian traditions in Panama.

Morris, who comes from a theatre background having discovered live performance through an elective while attending UTECH and continued his training with the JAMBIZ Centerstage Workshop before being cast in a number of local plays including Robin Baston’s A Soh It Goh & What Is Fi Yuh, Amba Chavannes’ Season Rice and Dahlia Harris’s Judgement had this to say about his first film and international role, “the experience was great. I was not only involved in a film being shot in Panama but I was involved in re-creating a part of Jamaican history that has never been told. A lot of Jamaican came to Panama to work on the Canal and died in the process. Marcus Garvey played an important role in defending the rights of the workers building the canal. The movie helps to tell this story, of how we (Jamaicans) contributed to the building of this engineering masterpiece.”

Produced by lead Panamanian film houses, Manglar and Hypatia Films, Historias del Canal, which had its official premier in Panama on August 26, 2014  marks the of the centennial of the panama canal. The film is aimed at being an unprecedented witness to and a tribute to the thousands of anonymous stories that somehow shaped the identity of Panama.

Morris, who was the only Jamaican actor to make the final cut, hopes that this film is just the beginning of many more international and local roles and is looking forward to being back on the Jamaican theatre scene soon.