For more than twenty-five years Roy T. Anderson, based in hometown Toronto and New York, has performed stunts for such Hollywood stars as Will Smith, Denzel Washington and Jamie Foxx.
In his career as a stuntman and stunt coordinator he’s appeared in blockbuster movies like Shaft, Spiderman 2, Bourne Ultimatum, and top rated TV shows; Law & Order, The Sopranos, and Boardwalk Empire. He’s also a world record holder, having leaped 28-feet between two tall Toronto buildings in 1990.
Now, while continuing his stunt work, Anderson will direct and produce his first feature-length documentary film, Akwantu: the Journey.
The documentary tells the story of Anderson’s ancestors, the legendary Maroons of Jamaica and their fight for freedom.
Shot in Jamaica, Ghana, Canada and the United States over the course of three years, the film will feature interviews with scholars, African nationals, Maroon officials and present day Jamaican citizens (both Maroon and non-Maroon), while also capturing Anderson’s personal journey of self discovery from Maroon society to the North American continent.
With this 105-minute feature documentary, the filmmaker invites audiences to join him on a journey into the lives of a people whose enduring spirit of self determination is as much alive today as it was more three hundred years ago.
The Jamaican Government has selected Akwantu: the Journey as one of the films that will celebrate Jamaica’s 50th Anniversary of Independence in 2012. The film will have its Caribbean premiere June 20, 2012 in Kingston, Jamaica.
We’ll continue to keep an ear out for the film’s progress, and whether it reaches the States.